Sophos share price jumps in first day of trading
Shares in cyber security giant Sophos closed above its initial public offering price during its first day of unconditional trading.
Shares in the Abingdon-based firm ended the day up 3.4 per cent to 242p per share at the close in London. Last week it said it would float the shares at 225p per share, which would enable it to raise $125m (£79.3m).
Sophos' flotation is London's biggest ever tech initial public offering. While the majority of tech firms opt to cross the pond in favour of a Nasdaq listing, the company plumped for the home ground of the London Stock Exchange.
Two previous attempts by Sophos to float were scuppered by an unfavourable economic climate. In 2007, it cancelled plans to list when the credit crunch hit, while in 2009, having investigated the idea, it decided instead to sell a majority stake to private equity firm Apax Partners.
Its largest shareholder is London-based Apax, which went on to acquire its 70 per cent stake in the company in 2010 for £372m.