A Chinese joint venture deal to acquire a graphene firm which appointed administrators last week has been blocked by the UK government on national security grounds.
The proposed acquisition of graphene-related assets owned by Versarien Plc by a joint venture involving China’s Anhui Boundary Innovative Materials Technology has been prevented via an order from senior minister Pat McFadden.
The order prevents the transfer and use of both tangible and intangible assets, including intellectual property and know-how with potential dual-use applications. A notice on the government’s website said this was “necessary and proportionate to prevent, remedy or mitigate the risk to national security”.
Versarien plc is an advanced engineering materials group headquartered in Longhope, Gloucestershire. It makes graphene products for use in a range of sectors including automotive and aerospace.
The firm placed a number of its businesses into administration last month after failing to find a buyer for them. They had hoped to extend the cash runway to the end of August to allow the strategic investment from the JV to go through.
Leonard Curtis sells majority stake to Pollen Street Capital
Joint administrators Andrew Knowles and Andrew Poxon of Leonard Curtis are now selling off the assets of Versarien plc and its shares in Gnanomat SL and Total Carbide Limited, while they were appointed administrators to the graphene division last week.
Shareholders have been warned not to expect any returns even if the assets are sold.
In June, the business posted a half-year pre-tax loss of £1.49m.
Its share price has plummeted 44% in the last month, despite a recovery today following the news of the stalled JV.
‘Let’s cut the bullsh*t’: ZOO Digital slammed over unpaid invoices