Darktrace CEO buys shares as firm notes Autonomy civil proceedings

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Darktrace PLC said on Thursday it sees ‘no link’ between the firm and the civil actions against Mike Lynch, whilst Chief Executive Poppy Gustafsson bought nearly £100,000 worth of shares in the firm.

Shares in the cyber security company were down 1.0% at 319.90 pence in London on Thursday morning. Over the past five days, shares have fallen 20%.

The Telegraph late Tuesday reported that Darktrace's strategy chief was part of a group of executives who helped to misrepresent the success of software company Autonomy, which was acquired by Hewlett-Packard Co back in 2011.

The Telegraph reported Darktrace Chief Strategy Officer Nicole Eagan has been named as ‘part of a clique’ in a fraud ruling at the UK High Court. The Telegraph noted Eagan was marketing chief at software company Autonomy, when it was sold to Hewlett-Packard in 2011. Autonomy Co-Founder Mike Lynch has been accused of deliberately overstating the value of his business before it was acquired by the American technology firm. Lynch also co-founded Darktrace.

Darktrace in a statement said: ‘Neither Darktrace nor any of its acting executives was a party to the civil proceedings. Neither Darktrace nor its acting executives are the target of any investigation.’

‘There has been no change to the prospects or trading of the business since our last update,’ the company added.

Further, Darktrace said on Thursday that CEO Poppy Gustafsson bought 29,496 shares in the company.

Gustafsson purchased the shares at 336.5 pence each in a single transaction on Wednesday, for a total of £99,254.

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