IP Group shares jump as portfolio company plans AIM listing

(Reuters) - Shares in British intellectual property marketing company IP Group Plc rose as much as 13 percent on Friday after it said a company in which it has invested plans to raise funds and list on London's junior stock market. The company, Xeros Ltd, makes reusable and recyclable polymer beads for the laundry industry. It plans to raise between 30 million pounds and 40 million pounds ($50 million-$67 million) and list on the Alternate Investment Market (AIM), a source familiar with the matter told Reuters. Xeros is expected to have a market capitalisation of between 90 million and 100 million pounds, the source said. IP Group said Xeros, a spin-out from the University of Leeds, was expected to make its trading debut in March. IP Group holds a 14.6 percent stake in the company, while its IP Venture Fund holds an 8.1 percent stake. Shares in IP Group were up 6.3 percent at 228.5 pence at 1557 GMT, and were the biggest percentage gainer on the FTSE-250 Midcap Index <.FTMC>. Sheffield-based Xeros, whose investors also include Enterprise Ventures, the Entrepreneurs Fund and Invesco, has raised more than 15 million pounds so far, the source said. "I am delighted that our major shareholders are highly supportive of our proposed listing and associated fundraising," Chief Executive Bill Westwater said in an emailed statement to Reuters. Westwater, who has been CEO of Xeros since mid-2008, has worked at Procter & Gamble , where he was responsible for Ariel brand detergent in China. IP Group, which commercialises intellectual property developed at universities and other institutions, has tie-ups with 11 universities in the UK including King's College London and the University of Oxford. The company supports IP development in fields as diverse as computer-aided drug discovery to fuel cell technology and graphene, according to its website. (Reporting by Noor Zainab Hussain in Bangalore; Editing by Ted Kerr)