Is IPO in China Imagination's Only Possible Exit Path?

By Nitin Dahad, EETimes (April 30, 2020)

Next week the U.K. government will hold a parliamentary hearing to consider establishing an instrument similar to America’s CFIUS (Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S.) to protect UK companies from takeovers deemed against the national interest. The impetus for considering such a measure is what’s going on with Imagination Technologies.

The hearing will call upon former CEO Hossein Yassaie, one of the more prolific campaigners to “keep Imagination Technologies British” and current management team Steve Evans, chief product officer, and John Rayfield, chief technical officer, who have threatened resignation if the company’s ultimate owners, China Reform Holdings, exercise more control within the company’s governance.

Imagination’s saga is being spun at least four different ways, as those with different agendas and vested interests attempt to control the perception of what is happening with the company. Here’s the essence of each of those views: