Australia’s leading independent law firm, Corrs Chambers Westgarth, has advised IP Group Plc on its first Australian institutional mandate targeting investment across life sciences and technology.
Corrs assisted IP Group in structuring a co-investment vehicle with major Australian superannuation fund Hostplus.
The first investment made by the IP Group Hostplus Innovation Fund is in Oxford Nanopore, the company behind the only portable, real-time DNA/RNA sequencer, MinION, whose goal is to enable the analysis of any living thing, by any person, in any environment. This low-cost DNA sequencing technology has a range of applications globally, including life-changing uses in cancer or genetic research and commercialisation in the food sector.
According to Corrs lead partner in the matter, Fadi Khoury, ”The innovative co-investment structure is an efficient way for superannuation funds (and potentially millions of underlying members) to gain access to growth opportunities in the healthcare, technology, cleantech and biotech sectors.
“It is exciting to see sophisticated investor capital partnering with astute global management talent to fund life changing technology.”
At the forefront of intellectual property commercialisation, UK-listed IP Group Plc partners with leading universities in the UK, US, Australia and New Zealand to build intellectual-property based businesses and provide ongoing support as ideas progress from the ‘cradle to maturity’.
IP Group recently expanded its footprint with exclusive arrangements with the 'Group of Eight' Australian universities and the University of Auckland, a transaction on which Corrs (led by Partner Sandy Mak) also acted for IP Group.
The Corrs team in IP Group’s co-investment vehicle was led by Partner Fadi Khoury, an experienced funds management practitioner. Fadi has more than 20 years of experience as a trusted advisor to leading local and offshore sponsors and investors across asset classes, including investment in the venture capital and alternative investment space. The Corrs team also included Financial Services Partner Michael Chaaya and lawyer Magan Goh.