The cyber security company backed by extradited entrepreneur Mike Lynch is to be snapped up by a US private equity firm in a further blow for the London Stock Exchange.
Darktrace, one of the UK’s biggest listed tech companies, has agreed a £4.2bn takeover by Chicago-based Thoma Bravo.
The deal will mean a significant payday for Mr Lynch, who is currently standing trial in the US for alleged fraud at Autonomy, another of the companies that he founded. Mr Lynch and his wife have a combined stake of around 7pc, meaning they are in line for almost £300m.
Thoma Bravo has agreed to buy the business for $7.75 (620p) a share. Darktrace stock leapt almost 30pc on the news to 617p, in a sign the markets expect the takeover to go through.
The deal comes less than two years after Thoma Bravo pulled out of talks to buy Darktrace and just three years after the company listed in London.
Thoma Bravo said it would keep Darktrace’s Cambridge headquarters and its research operations in the UK.
Announcing the deal, Darktrace said the company had been undervalued by public investors.
It said: “The Darktrace Board believes that Darktrace’s operating and financial achievements have not been reflected commensurately in its valuation with shares trading at a significant discount to its global peer group.”
The sale will add to concerns that successful British companies are seeking a future away from the stock market and being acquired by overseas bidders that value them more highly.
Darktrace has had a dramatic three years as a listed company, with shares soaring amid a tech boom in 2021 before falling sharply as it was targeted by short sellers accusing the company of accounting improprieties. The deal represents a 148pc premium to its flotation price.
Mr Lynch, the company’s founding investor, and Stephen Chamberlain, its former chief operating officer, are currently standing trial in the US on criminal charges related to the $11bn sale of Mr Lynch’s software company Autonomy in 2011. HP, which bought the business, won a civil trial against Mr Lynch two yearas ago in the High Court.
Thoma Bravo, a $138bn private equity firm, specialises in tech and software businesses. It bought the London-listed cyber security company Sophos in 2020 in a $3.8bn deal.
A string of large companies have announced plans to come off the London Stock Exchange in recent months, either through a sale or pursuing an overseas listing. They include Flutter Entertainment, travel group Tui and building materials company CRH.
Meanwhile Royal Mail and the miner Anglo American are both facing takeover bids.
The British microchip giant Arm chose to list in New York rather than London last year.
Earlier this month the chief executive of the British biotech company E-therapeutics said London’s markets were “completely broken and closed” as the company announced plans to de-list and pursue a US flotation.
Thoma Bravo said it had support from Darktrace’s biggest investor KKR, as well as Summit Partners, which own around 11.3pc between them. Mr Lynch and his wife Angela Bacares stand to make just under £300m from the sale.
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