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Oxford Capital Exits Sirigen In Sale To Becton Dickinson

Venture capital backed High Sensitivity Fluorescence Business, Sirigen Group Limited, has been acquired by BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company), a leading global medical technology company for an undisclosed sum.

Founded in 2004, Sirigen uses Nobel-prize winning science to produce light harvesting polymers which have a wide range of applications in research, medical diagnostics and life sciences.

BD is focused on improving drug delivery, enhancing the quality and speed of diagnosing infectious diseases and cancers, and advancing research, discovery and production of new drugs and vaccines. Founded in 1897 and headquartered in Franklin Lakes, New Jersey, BD employs approximately 29,000 associates in more than 50 countries throughout the world.

Sirigen is headquartered at Ringwood, Hampshire, UK with offices in San Diego, California and employs 15 staff across these locations. Sirigen has raised £10.3 million across four rounds of funding since January 2008 from UK venture capital investors Seraphim Capital, Oxford Capital Partners, IQ Capital, Nesta and YFM Equity Partners who are fully realising their holdings and achieving potential returns in the range of 2.5x – 4.0x on their original investment.

Sirigen’s patented High Sensitivity Fluorescence™ (HSF™) technology will enable BD to develop unique dyes and antibody specificity releases over the next two years to significantly expand its life science research reagent portfolio. Sirigen’s light harvesting technology can dramatically boost the sensitivity of fluorescent reagents, making them four to ten times brighter than conventional dyes – a breakthrough in the field.

Nick Kerton, former CEO of Sirigen, commented: “BD and Sirigen have established a strong relationship over the last 6 years and BD’s technical expertise is an excellent match to the highly talented and unique Sirigen Chemistry team. Over the next few years the teams will work to accelerate the development of novel dyes for flow cytometry analysis based on Sirigen’s uniquely tuneable fluorescent chemistry. Our longstanding relationship and complementary teams gives me a great deal of confidence that they will deliver exciting offerings for customers”.

Investors helped shape the business and in 2010 brought on board diagnostic industry veteran David Evans as chairman. David is an entrepreneurial accountant focussed in early stage and high-growth medical diagnostics and life science companies.

David Mott, Investment Director, Oxford Capital Partners said:
“Sirigen is a great example of how entrepreneurs and scientists working with specialist investors can convert a technology platform into a valuable business. We’re proud to have played our part in helping Sirigen’s technology become a truly disruptive innovation within the diagnostics market.”

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Due to the potential for losses, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) considers this investment to be high risk.

What are the key risks?

  1. You could lose all the money you invest
    1. If the business you invest in fails, you are likely to lose 100% of the money you invested. Most start-up businesses fail.
  2. You are unlikely to be protected if something goes wrong
    1. Protection from the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), in relation to claims against failed regulated firms, does not cover poor investment performance. Try the FSCS investment protection checker here.
    2. Protection from the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) does not cover poor investment performance. If you have a complaint against an FCA-regulated firm, FOS may be able to consider it. Learn more about FOS protection here.
  3. You won’t get your money back quickly
    1. Even if the business you invest in is successful, it may take several years to get your money back. You are unlikely to be able to sell your investment early.
    2. The most likely way to get your money back is if the business is bought by another business or lists its shares on an exchange such as the London Stock Exchange. These events are not common.
    3. If you are investing in a start-up business, you should not expect to get your money back through dividends. Start-up businesses rarely pay these.
  4. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket
    1. Putting all your money into a single business or type of investment for example, is risky. Spreading your money across different investments makes you less dependent on any one to do well.
    2. A good rule of thumb is not to invest more than 10% of your money in high-risk investments. https://www.fca.org.uk/investsmart/5-questions-ask-you-invest
  5. The value of your investment can be reduced
    1. The percentage of the business that you own will decrease if the business issues more shares. This could mean that the value of your investment reduces, depending on how much the business grows. Most start-up businesses issue multiple rounds of shares.
    2. These new shares could have additional rights that your shares don’t have, such as the right to receive a fixed dividend, which could further reduce your chances of getting a return on your investment.

 

If you are interested in learning more about how to protect yourself, visit the FCA’s website here.