Patent marketing firm IP Group to buy out smaller peer Fusion IP

Jan 23 (Reuters) - Intellectual property marketing company IP Group Plc (LSE: IPO.L - news) said it agreed to buy the about 80 percent stake it does not already own in peer Fusion IP Plc for about 70 million pounds ($116 million) in stock.

The deal offers Fusion IP (LSE: FIP.L - news) shareholders 0.446 IP Group shares for every share held, or a premium of about 27 percent to the stock's Wednesday close.

The deal values Fusion IP at 80.2 pence per share or about 87.8 million pounds.

IP Group, which commercializes intellectual property developed at universities and similar establishments, first invested in Fusion IP in 2009 and currently owns a 20.1 percent stake.

IP Group has tie-ups with 11 universities in the UK including King's College London and the University of Oxford, and supports IP development in fields as diverse as computer-aided drug discovery to fuel cell technology and graphene.

"The acquisition is highly complementary to IP Group's core business and will give the combined entity greater breadth of coverage, enabling us to access a wider pool of intellectual property," IP Group Chief Executive Alan Aubrey said in a statement.

IP Group also said on Thursday that it would raise about 75.0 million pounds through a share placing, of which 50 million pounds would be raised through a firm placing underwritten by Numis Securities.

Shares in IP Group were down about 2 percent at 175.6 pence at 0908 GMT on the London Stock Exchange (Other OTC: LDNXF - news) . Shares in Fusion IP were up 17 percent in very light trade.