Darktrace promises to identify threats lurking shadily in IT systems, as its name implies. The UK cyber security group has some shadows of its own. The business is something of a black box and shareholder Mike Lynch is fighting extradition to face criminal charges in the US. The volatile shares are twice their float price but have halved since their September peak.
Thoma Bravo may offer investors a way to step back into the light. The US buyout group has made a bid approach. This lifted the stock, valuing the group at £3.4bn.
Broadly, cyber security is a good investment in a dangerous era. The financial metrics of Darktrace are up there with highly rated peers. Yet even after the pop from a potential takeover offer, the shares were valued at just six times 2023 revenues. That was two-thirds lower than CrowdStrike of the US.