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Amphion builds shareholder value in high growth companies in the medical and technology sectors, by using a focused, hands-on company building approach, based on decades of experience in both the US and UK.
Amphion has a significant shareholding in 8 Partner Companies developing proven technologies targeting substantial commercial marketplaces, each in excess of $1 billion. Each Partner Company is chosen with the goal of achieving an exit valuation in excess of $100 million.
Amphion’s Kromek picks up award as its x-ray liquid scanners undergo testing at EU airports
Amphion Innovations’ (AIM: AMP) investment in liquid detection company Kromek is looking better by the day. Kromek drew extensive media coverage in recent days following reports that the EU is testing liquid detection scanners at a number of airports. Kromek’s profile was further boosted after it picked up an award at the Global Security Challenge in Brussels.
Amphion holds a 19.99% stake in Kromek, which was announced as the winner of the western European section of the Global Security Challenge Competition in Brussels among the companies with revenues between £1 and £10 million last week.
The company drew praise for “breaking boundaries and solving problems which others have tried to solve over many years” by developing an x-ray technology which can distinguish dangerous chemicals from other similar looking liquids. Failed bombings of transatlantic flights with liquid explosives by al-Quaeda inspired terrorists back in 2006 led to the introduction of enhanced security measures which are estimated to have cost British airlines and airports £100 million.
Kromek’s scanners will cost about £30,000 each and will likely allow further relaxation of the restrictions that are currently in place in airports, banning passengers from taking containers of liquids and gels over 100 ml onboard after hand luggage was prohibited entirely in the immediate aftermath of the bomb plot. The current measures lead to the confiscation of two tonnes of alcohol on a monthly basis at the Heathrow airport alone.
The possibility of the current enhanced security measures being eased or eliminated drew extensive coverage in the media last week, with Kromek earning mentioned in most mainstream media sources, including the Guardian, Independent and the BBC.
The media has reported that the equipment, which is currently being tested at various airports across the EU, could lead to changes in the liquid restrictions as soon as within the next 12 months.
Shares in Amphion have performed well in recent weeks, climbing to over 14p per share after the company recently reported no change in its net asset value (NAV) and reiterated its focus on investing in technology and medical companies with high growth potential.
Kromek appears to be just that, and has something to show for it with the award it secured last week. Should the ongoing equipment tests prove a success, the company could find itself in a position to score deals from the EU’s leading airlines and further boost the value of Amphion’s investment portfolio.
Amphions’ other investments include Firestar Software (15.3%), Axcess International (8.5%), Motif Biosciences (38.5%), MSA Holdings B.S.C. (50%), M2M Imaging Corp (24.4%), Myconostica (22%), Private Markets (25%), WellGen (14.6%), and DataTern (100%).
