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Mystery remains over whether some of Darktrace’s largest shareholders are willing to back its £4.2bn takeover by US-based Thoma Bravo.
Founding investor Mike Lynch, currently on trial in the US over fraud allegations related to executive search software firm Autonomy, has yet to comment.
And it is also difficult to determine the position of the Darktrace Employee Benefit Trust, which includes an unspecified number of workers.
Mystery: Founding investor Mike Lynch, currently on trial in the US over fraud allegations related to executive search software firm Autonomy, has yet to comment
The trust owns just under 8 per cent, or £337 million, of the shares.
Darktrace has not been able to shed light on how the trust will decide whether to back the deal.
A spokeswoman said it would rely on independent trustees and pointed the Mail on Sunday to Equiniti, which manages the trust.
Oops! An Equiniti spokeswoman tells the Mail: “You have to ask the Darktrace team, this has nothing to do with Equiniti.”
No longer ‘down with the children’
How do you know if you’re no longer “kid depressed”?
One way is to track the Advertising Standards Authority’s decisions on whether ads on controversial topics appeal to young people.
In March, the regulator said a BetMGM advert featuring US comedian Chris Rock was unlikely to have “wide appeal” to under-18s.
Last week it was TV presenter Emma Willis, who the ASA does not believe will encourage them to play the People’s Postcode Lottery.
Oh.
‘Encouraging’ UK expertise in the space industry
We must foster UK expertise in the space industry, so says a recent article on the Space News website.
He makes fair points, such as the need for the private sector and a top-tier talent pool.
But let’s look at the author: one Shonnel Malani, senior non-executive director of the UK’s Department of Science, Innovation and Technology.
He is also UK managing director of Advent International, the US private equity vulture that took over two of Britain’s biggest defense firms and then dismantled one (Cobham) within a couple of years.
Whispers is interested in learning more about what you consider “parenting” to be like, Shonnel.
Problems at Petrofac
Petrofac suspended its shares last week after delaying its results and admitting it did not expect to make a debt payment on time.
Things have gone from bad to worse for the energy infrastructure builder, once worth £4bn but now a £55m tiddler.
It has been the most shorted stock in London for some time, with a record 11.5 per cent of its shares on loan in January.
But three of the six hedge funds betting against the company could be kicking themselves.
They trimmed their short positions at the end of April, missing Petrofac’s last decline before it ceased trading.
Contributor: John-Paul Ford Rojas
