Nanotech firm plans London float

LONDON: British nanotechnology firm Polaron has planned to list on London's junior AIM market at the end of March with a market value of 20 to 25 million pounds ($36 to 45 million).

The maker of a three-dimensional microscope used to probe materials so small their dimensions are measured in atoms, said it aimed to raise six to 10 million pounds from the initial public offering on London's Alternative Investment Market.

Founder Dr Isidore Stelzer would cut his holding in the firm to fewer than 10 per cent from a previous 59 per cent, exiting the business with between three and six million pounds of the cash raised, a spokesman said.

The remainder would be used for further research and development and to grow the business through acquisitions.

Nanotechnology, which involves manipulating matter on a scale of a billionth of a meter, or about 80,000 times smaller than the thickness of a human hair, has been touted as a potential multibillion-dollar industry.

Polaron, founded in 1963, said it had seen an increase in demand for its 3-D atom probe, which is used in nanotechnology research facilities, government and university laboratories and by the semiconductor, storage and metals/alloys industries. Its potential market was estimated at 300 million pounds.

The firm's customers include Dutch electronics giant Philips, Europe's largest defence contractor BAE Systems, German carmaker Mercedes-Benz and British oil major BP.

Its technology is used in London Underground trains, Stingray torpedoes and the lighting control systems at Dubai's Burj Al Arab, the world's only seven star hotel. It also has a software republishing business where its titles include "Music Maker 7".

The firm reported a pre-tax profit of 0.6 million pounds on earnings of 11.9 million pounds in the year to June 30, 2003.

Arbuthnot Securities is adviser to the float and broker.