IP Group plc - Portfolio company Diurnal announces £30m fundraising and proposed admission to AIM

IP Group plc (LSE: IPO) ("IP Group" or "the Group"), the developer of intellectual property-based businesses, is pleased to note that portfolio company Diurnal Group plc ("Diurnal" or "the Company"), a specialty pharmaceutical company targeting patient needs in chronic endocrine (hormonal) diseases, has published its Admission Document following a successful £30 million fundraising and has applied for the Admission of its entire issued and to be issued share capital to AIM, a market operated by London Stock Exchange plc.

Diurnal, a spin-out company from the University of Sheffield, has conditionally raised approximately £30 million (£28.4 million net of expenses) by way of a placing of new ordinary shares of 5 pence each in the Company (the "Shares") at 144 pence per Share (the "Placing Price") to institutional and other investors (the "Placing") and through IP Group making a convertible loan available to it.

Pursuant to the Placing, Diurnal will issue 17,603,759 Shares, raising gross proceeds for the Company of approximately £25.3 million. A total of 52,210,759 Shares will be in issue immediately following Admission, giving a market capitalisation of approximately £75.2 million at the Placing Price.

Following completion of the Placing and Admission, IP Group will be beneficially interested in 23,488,264 ordinary shares in Diurnal, representing 45.0% of Diurnal's enlarged issued share capital, valued at £33.8 million at the Placing Price. The transaction will result in an unrealised fair value gain to the Group of £14.6 million at the Placing Price. IP Group has committed £8.1 million to the Placing and, in addition, is providing approximately £4.7 million to the Company by way of a five year, interest-free, unsecured convertible loan, convertible at the Placing Price.

Admission is expected to occur on Thursday, 24 December 2015, under the ticker symbol 'DNL'. The nominated adviser and broker to the Company is Numis Securities Limited.

Dr Martin Whitaker, CEO of Diurnal, commented: "We are delighted to have been able to complete our IPO successfully. The new funds will allow us to accelerate the development of our two leading product candidates which are in, or expected to commence shortly, late-stage clinical development targeting diseases of cortisol deficiency; Chronocort^®, to be used for Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia ("CAH") in adults, and Infacort^®, to be used for Adrenal Insufficiency ("AI"), including CAH in children. Our lead product candidate, Infacort^®, is anticipated to receive its first regulatory approval in Europe in the third quarter of 2017.

"Our vision is to become the world's leading endocrinology specialty pharma company targeting under-served patient needs in chronic hormonal diseases. We have identified a number of such needs which we estimate represent a combined market opportunity of more than $11 billion.  As potential prescribing endocrinologists for our products are predominantly concentrated in specialist centres throughout Europe and the US, we believe there is significant opportunity, at the right time, to build a cost-effective, focused sales and marketing operation. This should enable us to maximise the value from our product candidates, once approved, and create a base for further growth through in-licensing.

"We are excited to be entering this new chapter in Diurnal's evolution.  This IPO is a major milestone for the Company which would not have been possible without the hard work of our employees. We also wish to thank our existing investors for their continuing support and welcome our new shareholders."

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About IP Group

IP Group is a leading intellectual property commercialisation company which focuses on evolving great ideas, mainly from its partner universities, into world-changing businesses. The Group has pioneered a unique approach to developing these ideas and the resulting businesses by providing access to business building expertise, capital (through its 100%-owned FCA-authorised subsidiary IP Capital), networks, recruitment and business support. IP Group has a strong track record of success and its portfolio comprises holdings in over 90 early-stage to mature businesses across four main sectors -- Biotech, Cleantech, Healthcare and Technology. The Company is listed on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange under the code IPO.

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ENDS