Darktrace stock hit after KKR sells part of holding

Darktrace shares tumbled as one of its private equity backers dumped a large stake in the cybersecurity group.

A technology fund run by US private equity shark KKR revealed it had sold 19.4m shares in the FTSE250 firm, equivalent to a stake of around 2.5pc.

The group offloaded the shares with a price tag of 425p each, a 7.8pc discount to its last closing price, racking up a total sale value of nearly £82.5m.

Darktrace shares dropped 7.4pc, or 33.9p, to 427.1p following news of the sale.

The fund, known as NGT 1, initially backed Darktrace in 2016, five years before it made its debut on the stock market.

Despite the sale, KKR still remains a Darktrace investor, with its second fund NGT II continuing to hold a 7.3pc stake in the business. The private equity group’s decision to sell follows a recent surge in the share price this month after Darktrace posted a strong set of half-year results.

At the time, the group also upgraded its sales forecasts for the year, predicting the rising geopolitical tensions and increased risk of cyber attacks would drive demand for its products.

The FtSe 100 rose 0.6pc, or 48.37 points, to 7930.92 as the blue-chip index continued its strong run and inched closer to a previous all-time high of 8012 notched up in February last year.

The FtSe 250 lost 0.09pc, or 16.99 points, to 19724.32.

Markets have been boosted by rising hopes that interest rates will be cut soon after both the Bank of England and the US Federal Reserve kept rates steady this week.

Optimism was reinforced earlier this week when governor Andrew Bailey said cuts were ‘on the way’ and that the Bank could lower rates two or three times this year.

One of the top risers was insurance group Phoenix, which soared 8.4pc, or 41p, to 529.2p following a strong set of annual results.

The firm posted a pre-tax profit of £617m for 2023, up from £544m the previous year while the amount of cash generated from its business jumped 35pc to £2.02bn.

Among those struggling in the top index was retailer JD Sports, which dropped 6.3pc, or 7.35p, to 109.75p following bleak results overnight from trainer maker Nike. The US giant’s bosses warned that it was losing market share while sales in China and Europe fell short of expectations, sparking fears of a wider drop in demand for sportswear.

Rival trainer seller Frasers Group, the owner of Sports Direct, also suffered with the stock dipping 1.4pc, or 11p, to 792p.

Gambling giant 888 rose 0.9pc, or 0.8p, to 87.2p after it avoided penalties from the regulator following a review of its license opened in July last year.

Mid-cap IT firm computacenter announced its chairman Peter Ryan will step down at its annual general meeting in May after six years as a director.

Pauline Campbell, one of its non-executive directors, will succeed Ryan.

Computacenter shares rose 0.2pc, or 6p, to 2702p.

MARINE engineering outfit James Fisher & Sons received a boost after signing a sale deal for its pumps business.

The group’s RMSpumptools division will be sold to US oilfield technology firm ChampionX for £90m, of which around £83m will be in cash.

The deal is expected to close in the second half of this year.

RMS specialises in underwater electrical pumps as well as subsea power cables and sensors. James Fisher shares jumped 7.1pc, or 17.5p, to 265.5p