Oxford Instruments PLC (AIM:OXIG) has announced a delay to the publication of its results, which were due today, and also revealed it has sold its quantum-focused business for £60 million in cash to a US private company.
The delay to the results is due to auditors BDO requesting more time, the company said, flagging that it released a trading update in April that confirmed the past year had seen a strong performance in line with market expectations.
In a separate announcement, the FTSE 250-listed group said it has sold Oxford Instruments NanoScience to California-based Quantum Design International (QDI), with £57 million cash to be paid on completion of the deal and up to £3 million linked to future revenues from quantum scaling systems.
Following the transaction, the group intends to return up to £50 million to shareholders via a share buyback.
In the past year, NanoScience generated roughly £59 million of revenue and £1 million of adjusted operating profit.
Non-recurring transaction-related costs are expected to be approximately £2-3 million in the past year and approximately £4 million of costs currently allocated to the NanoScience business will remain within the group post-sale, though mitigation efforts are planned.
CEO Richard Tyson said the sale "is in line with our strategy to focus and invest in the best areas of opportunity to grow the group and create value for shareholders, and supports progress towards our medium-term margin targets".
QDI is owned by the deep-pocketed Carlson family office, which acquired it in October 2024.