Nanoco Group — Litigation against LG and new JDA agreement

Nanoco’s launch of litigation against LG and announcement of a joint development agreement (JDA) with a second Asian chemicals business provide a further indication of the business’s reinvigoration. Both developments should also provide support for the planned disposal of the trading businesses, where Nanoco is now involved in in-depth engagements with a number of parties. The net impact of litigation costs versus JDA revenues should be broadly neutral on near-term cash burn (£0.5m/month). We believe the current valuation reflects a pessimistic scenario for Nanoco. Quantum dots are still expected to gain significant adoption across sensors and display, Nanoco has significant IP and expertise and its commercial pipeline is growing again. The market cap is broadly equivalent to its net cash position of £15.2m as of 4 April.