Shares
in
UK
Cybersecurity
firm
Darktrace
(DARK)
leapt
over
19%
today
on
news
of
a £4
billion
US
private
equity
takeover.
Darktrace,
which
will
therefore
be
the
latest
firm
to
quit
the
London
Stock
Exchange,
was
valued
at
618p
per
share
as
of
9:10AM,
an
increase
of
19.23%.
The
deal
comes
less
than
two
years
after
Thoma
Bravo
first
entered
talks
to
buy
Darktrace,
although
it
later
halted
its
bid
pursuit.
Darktrace
said
the
acquisition
will
allow
its
business
to
accelerate
its
global
expansion.
Chief
executive
Poppy
Gustafsson
said
the
proposal
represents
the
next
stage
in
Darktrace’s
growth
journey.
“Our
technology
has
never
been
more
relevant
in
a
world
increasingly
threatened
by
AI-powered
cyberattacks,”
she
said.
“In
the
face
of
this,
we
are
expanding
our
product
portfolio,
entering
new
markets,
and
focused
on
delivering
for
our
customers,
partners
and
colleagues.”
Thoma
Bravo
added
the
deal
“represents
an
attractive
opportunity
to
increase
its
exposure
to
the
large
and
growing
cybersecurity
market,
and
to
invest
to
accelerate
Darktrace’s
continued
development
and
further
scale
the
business
globally.”
In
April
2021,
Cambridge-based
Darktrace
floated
on
the
London
Stock
Exchange
at
250p
per
share.
After
peaking
in
October
2021,
its
shares
have
looked
lacklustre.
But
today,
as
the
business
announced
its
possible
exit
from
the
LSE,
Darktrace
decried
that
its
growth
“had
not
been
reflected
commensurately
in
its
valuation.”
Darktrace’s
bid
to
go
private
follows
veterinary
pharmaceuticals
company
Dechra
and
the
restaurant
group
behind
Wagamama,
which
both
fled
the
London
public
market
last
year.
The
acquisition
has
also
been
seen
as
an
opportunity
for
Darktrace
to
end
its
relationship
with
controversial
billionaire
investor
Mike
Lynch,
who
will
net
around
£170
million
from
his
4%
share
in
the
firm.
Lynch,
who
denies
all
wrongdoing,
was
extradited
to
the
US
last
year
to
face
criminal
charges
over
Hewlett
Packard’s
$11
billion
(£8.8
billion)
acquisition
of
his
software
company
Autonomy
in
2011.
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