Advertisement

IT security firm Sophos plans London listing

By Aashika Jain

(Reuters) - Sophos Group Plc, a maker of IT security products, said it plans to raise about $100 million in an initial public offering on the London Stock Exchange.

The company, which expects admission of its shares in early July, had pulled out from potential floats in 2007 and 2009.

"We think the atmosphere for technology companies in the UK is strong, and is only getting stronger," Chief Executive Kris Hagerman said on a conference call on Wednesday.

He declined to comment on the expected valuation of the potential floatation.

Sophos, majority-owned by Apax Partners LLP, however, said it expects to have a free float of at least 25 percent after its admission on the FTSE-250 index.

Apax Partners was aiming at listing the business at 1 billion pounds, the Telegraph reported in February.

Sophos, which primarily focuses on mid-market enterprises with 100-5,000 employees, plans to use the proceeds to reduce debt, which stood at $318.8 million at April-end.

J.P. Morgan Securities Plc and Morgan Stanley & Co International Plc are acting as joint global co-ordinators for the offering.

($1 = 0.6547 pounds)

(Reporting by Aashika Jain in Bengaluru; Editing by Anupama Dwivedi and Joyjeet Das)