Shares in Nanoco Group PLC (LSE:NANO) fell 21% to 6.8p after the quantum dot maker chose not to pursue a sale of its operating assets and intellectual property.
The company will instead focus on delivering value by investing in its existing business lines while reducing operating costs.
At the same time, the company announced that CEO Dmitry Shashkov will be leaving his role in February and that current chief financial officer Liam Gray will take on the role of interim CEO.
The board said the disposal process had reached an advanced stage with several parties but did not result in firm offers, not helped by the complexity and execution risks of a deal, including considerations around national security legislation.
“As it currently stands, we believe that the process is now unlikely to deliver a compelling transaction when the group could instead deliver comparable or superior value by carefully investing its resources in existing high-potential business areas,” said chairman Jalal Bagherli, who is also taking on some executive responsibilities.
The company said it will reduce gross monthly cash operating costs to between £300,000-400,000 and continue to advance its joint development agreements with two Asian chemical partners, as well as pursuing intellectual property litigation against Shoei Chemical, having recently concluded its case with LG Electronics.
Two non-executive directors, Dr Alison Fielding and Dieter May, will step down in April 2026 as part of efforts to reduce board size and cost.