Allied Minds to take $146m writedown from restructuring

Allied Minds, the Neil Woodford-backed intellectual property commercialisation group, has announced it is likely to take a $146.6m writedown on the value of seven of its subsidiaries as part of restructuring efforts to focus on a smaller number of its most promising businesses.

The group, which is based in Boston, MA, but listed in London and part of the FTSE 250, said it will pull funding from seven of its subsidiaries, which may then be sold or liquidated.

The discontinued businesses contributed $146.6m to its Group Subsidiary Ownership Adjusted Value at June 30 last year, and Allied Minds said it expects to mark down the entire value in its full-year results later this year, “with some modestly offsetting net positive movements elsewhere in the portfolio”.

Jill Smith, Allied Minds interim chief executive, said many of the businesses had “demonstrated progress against technical milestones”, but commercialising them was “unlikely to yield appropriate financial returns”.

Ms Smith added:

There is tremendous potential across our portfolio and pipeline and I am excited by our prospects and the opportunities to drive accelerated commercialisation. Today’s measures are a necessary step in refocusing the company on the areas where we have the most potential.