Cybersecurity firm Darktrace’s shares skyrocket 43% in London IPO

Cybersecurity firm Darktrace’s shares skyrocket 43% in London IPO

A Darktrace cybersecurity software demonstration shows how a global problem can start with just one employee's work station.

LONDON “” British cybersecurity start-up Darktrace saw its shares surge as much as 43% in its highly-anticipated London debut Friday.

The company priced its shares at 250p Friday morning. At that price, Darktrace was valued at £1.7 billion ($2.4 billion), the company said.

At about 8:15 a.m. London time, Darktrace shares climbed to more than 358p, up 43%.

Darktrace said its offering would comprise around 66 million shares “” or about 9.6% of Darktrace's issued share capital “” and raise a total of £165.1 million.

Of that, £143.4 million will go to the company, while £21.7 million will go to existing shareholders. The company has said a further 9.9 million shares will be sold if demand proves higher than expected.

Darktrace shares started trading in conditional dealings under the ticker "DARK" Friday morning. Unconditional dealings are expect to commence on May 6.

It's the second major test of London's appetite for high-growth tech companies. Last month, Amazon-backed food delivery firm Deliveroo flopped in its debut, plunging as much as 30% in one of the worst London IPOs in history.