Oxford Nanopore Technolo... Takeover Rumours (ONT)

No change in guidance and continued confidence to meet 2024 outlook. This will be taken as good news and share price will continue to rise over coming months. This is a sitting duck for a takeover once anti takeover shares expire in October.Good luck all

By my reckoning there are only two more trading days until the LAT shares expire. Shorts can no longer rely on the fact that there is little chance of corporate activity. We may eventually see ONT included in FTSE 100/250, and passive trackers, and funds that precluded anti-takeover co's could become buyers.

BioMerieux hands are tied by the lockout at 9.9% so can buy another 3% which may well be starting to happen. As I see it, Illumina also wants Oxford Nano to complement and enhance its own tech. It, and likely others will start to show their hands anytime as the overall takeover protection afforded at IPO expires in June. BM is barred from making an offer 'unless a third party enters the arena' like Illumina......then the gloves are off and BioMerieux can bid. Given the depth and exposure of involvement in joint projects with ONT, it is foolish to believe that BM would want to win the prize given its financial clout.Interesting times ahead given the potential for truly explosive growth here imo.

BioMerieux spent £70m at £2.38 a share in Oct.What are they seeing that LSE institutional holders can't? They currently hold just under 7% and can go upto 9.9% under their terms of investment and are ceilinged for 5yrs unless a bid approach to ONT is made. BioMerieux have multiple joint operations with ONT so it would only take a move by eg Illumina to trigger a big sentiment shift here. Oxford nano has a good cash runway to profit and a 3 year anti-takeover cover provided in 2021 expires soon allowing potential acquirers to build positions. I honestly cannot see a cutting-edge company of this quality languishing at this level for long. Either I'm very mistaken, or this is a little gem of an opportunity.

With LAT shares expiring early June this is ripe for a takeover. This valuation is ludicrous. ONT will not be staying at this price for long. BUY and HOLD.

When does the lock in period end and these become a takeover target? Not far away from memory?

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tom, in the header... Key Financial dates: 9 January 2024 Full year 2023 trading update 6 March 2024 Full year results for the year ended 31 December 2023 22 June 2024 [Could be 9/6/2024 as paperwork is ambiguous] Management LAT [anti-takeover] shares expire. Next NCM's London Calling 2024 Tuesday 21st - Friday 24th May 2024

Limited Anti-Takeover shares. Gordon, Spike and Clive each held one LAT share just before the flotation. These enable them to veto a takeover in the event of a 50%+ cohort of all other shareholders approving one at a general meeting held for such an event. This is/was designed to prevent a cheap takeout before the tech had a chance to mature. This policy has failed, as to be genuinely effective it should not have expired until 2026, when the co. is forecast to reach profitability and become financially self reliant. It has emboldened shorts, and kept the share out of UKX trackers, and other funds.

Reading between the lines, the directorate changes last week indicate to me that there is no intention of prolonging the life of the LAT shares held by Gordon, Spike and Clive, after they expire in June 2024. Clive is ahead of the game and has given up his veto already. This means that ONT is then entitled to join the UKX, other indices, and qualifies for addition to funds that exclude shares in companies with anti-takeover clauses. Additionally, shorts will be less secure with the fact that a sudden offer could emerge at any time. The rules seem to suggest that any offer and possible activation of LAT shares would require a general meeting to be called, meaning that it's feasible that a bid could in theory come before June 2024. We will probably know more after tomorrow.