Tern Plc Statement Re Device Authority Update

 
TIDMTERN 
 
 
   4 July 2017 
 
   Tern Plc (AIM: TERN) 
 
   Device Authority Update 
 
   Tern Plc (AIM:TERN), the investment company specialising in Internet of 
Things, is pleased to provide an update on developments at its investee 
company, Device Authority Ltd. ("Device Authority"). 
 
   This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of 
Article 7 of EU Regulation 596/2014 
 
   Patent valuation 
 
   ipCapital Group, Inc. ("ipCG"), a premier IP strategy consulting 
practice, has provided an independent valuation of six of Device 
Authority's nine US patents as part of the process of finalising the 
accounts consolidating Device Authority's financial statements. ipCG 
worked with Device Authority to perform an update to the 2013 Uniloc 
ipValue ModelSM which had considered approximately 260 global active 
issued patents and pending applications that addressed five primary 
markets. This update considered the Device Authority subset of this 
portfolio which substantially focuses on six granted patents, two of 
which were applications at the time the original model was completed. 
Today, Device Authority maintains a portfolio of nine US patents, out of 
a total of fifteen patents. 
 
   IpCG estimates the risk-adjusted Net Present Value of the subset 
portfolio to be approximately $9 million over a five-year period 
beginning in 2018, and $18 million over the life of the portfolio (with 
an average expiration year of 2030). 
 
   IpCG found the subset portfolio to be highly relevant to applications in 
the Transaction & Communication Security market. For example, this 
patent portfolio details technology capable of identifying all physical 
routing devices through which a packet has travelled, authentication of 
computing and communications hardware, detection of tampering attacks, 
and other actions critical for IoT security. 
 
   IoT security platform update 
 
   Device Authority has released the latest version of its flagship IoT 
security platform. One of the first products to deliver password 
management and Public Key Infrastructure ("PKI") certificates to devices 
without human intervention, Version 5.5 introduces unique Automated 
Password Management ("APM") technology to tackle the real-world 
challenges organisations are facing today with cyber attacks involving 
connected devices. KeyScaler's APM reduces the challenge and removes the 
associated human risks of manually updating credentials on hundreds or 
thousands of IoT devices. 
 
   KeyScaler also includes an IoT PKI connector enabling Amazon Web 
Services ("AWS") customers to access it through the AWS Marketplace. The 
new AWS IoT PKI Connector supports certificate provisioning; revocation; 
'thing' creation and certificate assignment, which is critical to 
securing IoT applications, their devices and data. 
 
   New contracts 
 
   Device Authority has signed a contract with a medical device 
manufacturer ahead of the launch of the manufacturer's IoT-enabled 
medical product later this year. Device Authority will be paid a 
subscription fee per annum per device. The product has the potential to 
ship tens of thousands of units over the coming years. 
 
   An OEM contract has also been signed with an IoT Platform Systems 
integrator that is launching a device asset management and analytics 
platform in the coming months. Device Authority will receive a 
percentage of the net revenues from the use of the application. This 
service is primarily focused in the Industrial IoT sector, providing 
secured real-time performance monitoring. 
 
   Al Sisto, CEO of Tern plc, said: 
 
   "Device Authority is continuing to make significant commercial progress, 
both in terms of securing contracts and in updating its product to meet 
rapidly changing market demands.  As a significant investor, Tern has 
long been persuaded of the quality of the Device Authority management 
team and product suite.  I am delighted to be able to report the 
conclusion of the independent valuation of Device Authority's suite of 
patents by ipCapital Group.  While this should not be seen as a direct 
comparator for the valuation of Device Authority as a Company, the Board 
of Tern does see this patent valuation as a validation of the market 
relevance of Device Authority and its technology, in this rapidly 
growing sector." 
 
   Enquiries 
 
 
 
 
Tern Plc                                          via Redleaf 
 Al Sisto/Sarah Payne 
 
  WH Ireland                                        Tel: [phone] 
  (NOMAD and joint broker) 
  Mike Coe/Ed Allsopp 
 
  Whitman Howard                                    Tel: [phone] 
  (Joint broker) 
  Nick Lovering/Francis North 
 
  Redleaf Communications                            Tel: [phone] 
  Rebecca Sanders-Hewett/David Ison/Elise Palmer 
 
   About ipCapital Group, Inc. 
 
   ipCapital Group, Inc. (ipCG) is a premier IP strategy consulting 
practice helping clients develop, manage, and use their IP effectively 
to support strategic business objectives. ipCG offers a range of 
services and proprietary methodologies to help companies throughout the 
full lifecycle of IP, from creation and strategic management to value 
extraction. Our work is data-driven, conservative, and backed by our 
deep expertise in IP strategy and monetization. 
 
   This announcement is distributed by Nasdaq Corporate Solutions on behalf 
of Nasdaq Corporate Solutions clients. 
 
   The issuer of this announcement warrants that they are solely 
responsible for the content, accuracy and originality of the information 
contained therein. 
 
   Source: Tern Plc via Globenewswire 
 
 
 
 

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 04, 2017 02:00 ET (06:00 GMT)

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