The 海角视频 government has blocked the proposed acquisition of assets belonging to a Gloucestershire graphene maker by a Chinese joint-venture on security grounds.
The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Pat McFadden, has prevented the transfer and use of the tangible and intangible assets held by Longhope-based Versarien to China's Anhui Boundary Innovative Materials Technology (BIMT).
The decision was made on the grounds of maintaining the security of know鈥恏ow and intellectual property relating to the production and use of graphene with dual鈥恥se applications.
The final order was published in an update on the government's website and announced by Versarien to its shareholders.
"The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster considers that the provisions of the final order are necessary and proportionate to prevent, remedy or mitigate the risk to national security," the government said.
Versarien said in a statement: "The purpose of any joint venture with BIMT will involve the import of BIMT's graphene, carbon nanotubes and silicon鈥恈arbon anode materials to the 海角视频 for sale, with a particular focus on electric vehicle and other battery technologies, technical support and research and development of new nanomaterial enhanced composite products for the automotive sector.
"It should be noted that there is no certainty of concluding a joint venture agreement on this basis, nor of concluding the strategic investment, which still remains subject to clearance under Chinese Outbound Direct Investment regulations, within the timeframes outlined in the Company's Corporate Update."
Versarien has been under financial pressure for some months and has already placed a number of its businesses into administration after failing to find a buyer for them.
The AIM-listed company, which makes products from graphene for use in the automotive and aerospace industries, warned its shareholders this month not to expect any returns from the administration process.
The business posted a pre-tax-loss of 拢1.49m for the first half of the year and in June appointed advisory firm Leonard Curtis to sell off certain assets from the group's 海角视频 tech companies.
In August, Versarian also agreed an out-of-court settlement with its former chief executive. Neill Ricketts left the firm in March last year and launched legal action against the business.
