Shares in Blockchain Worldwide PLC (LON:BLOC) have been suspended after the company made a takeover bid for a blockchain company set up by former Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC (LON:RBS) employees.
Richard Crook, the head of RBS’s innovation team, left the bank to set up Chorum back in September, taking three of his engineers with him. The Horsham-based company is being led by chief executive David Williams, the former boss and co-founder of satellite group Avanti Communications Group PLC (LON:AVN).
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Chorum’s flagship blockchain protocol is called Arqit, which Williams claimed in an interview with CoinDesk is capable of withstanding attacks from powerful quantum computers.
Blockchain Worldwide said any deal would be conditional on it carrying out further due diligence, the signing of a legally-binding agreement and a successful fundraising.
Should it go ahead, the transaction would be considered a reverse takeover, although the company warned it could not give an indication of a likely completion date, nor could it guarantee that the deal would complete at all.
“The company is currently unable to provide full disclosure in relation to the target company and accordingly has requested from the FCA a suspension of its listing with immediate effect,” read a statement.
“Listing of the company's ordinary shares will remain suspended until such time as either the acquisition, accompanying placing and re-admission is completed or a restoration request has been submitted and approved by the FCA.”