M&G : invests £35 million in Oxford Nanopore Technologies

4 May 2021

M&G invests £35 million in Oxford Nanopore Technologies

M&G plc today announces that it has participated in a private transaction totalling £195 million, investing £35 million in Oxford Nanopore Technologies (Oxford Nanopore). The company was founded in 2005 as a spin-out from the University of Oxford.

The investment has been made by M&G's newly formed Catalyst team, who are investing up to £5 billion into privately-owned innovative enterprises working to create a more sustainable world. The mandate was awarded in February by the £143 billion Prudential With-Profits Fund, which invests the long-term savings of Prudential's 5 million UK customers, which includes PruFund1.

Jack Daniels, Chief Investment Officer, M&G plc, said: "The technology developed by Oxford Nanopore is being used in a broad range of scientific research applications, including to further biomedical science, to characterise pathogens in microbiology and public health. This is an example of how institutional investors can play an important role in accelerating growth in companies that provide a wider benefit to society."

-ENDS-

Notes to Editors:

Catalyst sits within the Private & Alternative Assets business at M&G. With over two decades of experience in private asset investment, M&G already manages over £67.2 billion in private credit, private equity and real estate on behalf of Prudential policyholders and externalclients. Drawing on this expertise and track record in private assets, the Catalyst team seeks opportunities across the globe to invest in unlisted businesses which might otherwise struggle to access capital to develop and grow.

1 The Prudential With-Profits Fund is the largest of its kind in the UK, offering investors access to a wide range of assets, across different asset types and countries, to create a diversified portfolio which spreads the risk of investment.

Size of the With-Profits Fund (£143 billion), number of Prudential customers (5 million) and size of Private and Alternative Assets team (£67.2 billion) all as at 31 December 2020.

Media enquiries:

Irene Chambers

[e-mail]

[phone]

ACTIVE/107661221.5

About M&G plc

M&G plc is an international savings and investments business, managing money for both individual savers and institutional investors in 28 markets. As at 31 December 2020, we had £367 billion of assets under management and administration, around 5 million retail customers and more than 800 institutional clients.

With a heritage dating back more than 170 years, M&G plc has a long history of innovation in savings and investments, combining asset management and insurance expertise to offer a wide range of solutions. We serve our savings and insurance customers under the Prudential brand in the UK and Europe and for asset management in South Africa, and under the M&G Investments brand for asset management clients globally.

M&G has committed to achieve net zero carbon emissions on its total book of assets under management and administration by 2050 and committed to reduce operational carbon emissions as a corporate entity to net zero by 2030.

This press release reflects the authors' present opinions reflecting current market conditions; are subject to change without notice; and involve a number of assumptions which may not prove valid. It has been written for informational purposes only and should not be considered as investment advice or as a recommendation of any particular security, strategy or investment product. Past performance is not a guide to future performance.

The services and products herein are available only to investment professionals and are not available to individual investors, who should not rely on this communication. Information given in this document has been obtained from, or based upon, sources believed by us to be reliable and accurate although M&G does not accept liability for the accuracy of the contents.

ACTIVE/107661221.5