Business Weekly - Cambridge, UK

University of Cambridge plastronics technology is causing excitement in Silicon Valley but external punters may have to wait a couple of years before they can buy a slice of the success.

Plastic Logic is set for one more significant funding round before it contemplates an IPO.

Business Weekly can reveal that a float is not on the cards for a couple of years and whether it will be on Nasdaq or London is also up for debate.

The board might even eschew an IPO if a more attractive exit raises its head elsewhere.

As Business Weekly has previously reported, while Plastic Logic won’t be the first in the shops with its E-reader, its plastronics model as opposed to the glass versions being sold by Sony and Amazon is felt by industry experts to have a distinct commercial edge.

Production is expected to start in the autumn at Plastic Logic’s Dresden factory in Germany ready for 2009 roll-out.

Plastic Logic has already raised over $200m and another round – anything from $50m-$100m – should see the production phase through.

The technology is based on plastronics research from the University’s nanotech hothouse at Cavendish Laboratory.

It was originally developed by the company’s chief scientist Henning Serringhaus and Sir Richard Friend and is heavily backed by Amadeus Capital Partners in Cambridge.

Amadeus director Dr Hermann Hauser is on the Plastic Logic board and he has already gone on record as saying it is the most exciting company he has backed and is potentially “the next Intel.”

E-books should gain traction with consumers thanks to the lightweight nature and low production costs of Plastic Logic’s model.

Dr Hauser believes the founders may even be in line for a Nobel Prize when the full force of their invention is understood. He predicts that the company could break the half a billion dollars revenue barrier within a few years.