Business Weekly - Cambridge, UK

The placing, which would generate around £73m at the most recent closing price of 770p, would be used to finance “general corporate purposes of the company and for the financing of its growth, as well as for potential corporate opportunities which may arise from time to time,” Autonomy said.

The firm is also expected to demerge its consumer unit, Blinkx at the end of May. Autonomy will hold a ten per cent share in the new company, a video search engine which will employ the first consumer application of its IDOL software.

The role of bookrunner and broker will be played by UBS for the placing, with the books immediately opened and expected to close at the discretion of UBS and Autonomy.

After a period of steady gains, shares in Autonomy have seen a three per cent drop, falling 23.5p to 746.5p.