Darktrace IPO Soars on Debut After Big Cut to Valuation

Shares in security software group Darktrace soared on their London Stock Exchange debut Friday, as the listing was well received despite the controversy surrounding its links to controversial investor Mike Lynch.

At 4:25 AM ET (0925 GMT), the company’s stock was trading at 330 pence, a sharp increase from the initial listing price of 250 pence a share, which valued the company at 1.7 billion pounds ($2.4 billion).

The company uses artificial intelligence developed by its team of Cambridge mathematicians to understand IT networks and detect attacks by identifying unusual behavior.

The British cyber security firm, in which tech entrepreneur Lynch owns just less than a 25% stake, had been targeting a 3 billion pound ($4.1 billion) valuation. However, some institutional investors appeared to shun the float with Lynch still fighting a U.S. extradition request to face fraud charges related to the sale of Autonomy, which he founded, to Hewlett Packard in 2011. He denies the charges.

Lynch stepped down from Darktrace’s board in 2018 after the U.S. filed charges related to Autonomy.