No recommendation
No news or research item is a personal recommendation to deal. Hargreaves Lansdown may not share ShareCast's (powered by Digital Look) views.
(Sharecast News) - Railways Pension Trustee Company (Railpen) said on Monday that IP Group has rejected a takeover proposal of up to 74.7p per share.
Railpen, which owns an 18.4% stake in the company, said it has spent a number of months exploring a possible offer for IP Group.
Under the terms of the most recent potential proposal discussed with the board on 16 June, IP shareholders would have been entitled to receive 69.7p per share, with the potential to receive up to an extra 5p per share in cash through a contingent value right.
"Railpen considers that IP Group plays a strategically vital role in the UK economy in terms of providing high-risk venture and growth capital to principally UK companies with the objective of translating the UK's world class science and research into world improving companies," it said.
"However, Railpen believes that IP Group has had a challenging experience as a listed company, including trading at a persistent discount to its published NAV and consequential challenges in raising new equity capital to fund the future growth of its portfolio companies and make new investments.
"IP Group has also been challenged by the shorter-term investment horizons of the public equity markets compared to the longer-term patient capital required for supporting science-based venture and scale-up investments. Railpen has concluded that IP Group's strategic aims would therefore be best served in the private markets."
As a result, Railpen and IP began talks in late 2025 about the opportunity to build a "scaled, world-class third-party venture and scale-up manager which could be backed by a consortium of pension funds".
"Potential consortium members could be long-term, multi-decade investors and active participants in HMG's productive finance agenda, with direct involvement in shaping how UK pension capital is deployed," Railpen said, adding that it has identified potential pension funds which manage more than 235bn of collective capital and intends to discuss with them the formation of a consortium.
"Such a consortium would be uniquely positioned to unlock further long-term capital to support the future growth of IP Group and its portfolio companies and support the scale-up of principally UK-led scientific innovation."
However, the possible offer has been rejected by IP's board.
Under UK takeover rules, Railpen has until 1700 BST on 20 July to either announce a firm offer or walk away.
See latest RNS on Investegate