London’s High Court has ruled that the late British technology tycoon Mike Lynch is liable for Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s takeover of his Autonomy company, but his estate declined to appeal on Tuesday.
US technology giant HP is trying to recoup losses from its $11.1 billion 2011 acquisition of Autonomy from the estate of Lynch, who died in 2024 when his luxury yacht sank off Sicily.
HP accused Lynch and Autonomy’s former chief financial officer Sushovan Hussain of inflating the company’s value before the acquisition. Within a year of the acquisition, HP wrote down Autonomy’s value by $8.8 billion.
In 2022, the high court ruled that Lynch and Hussain were liable to HP in the deal, but the judge said the compensation HP received would be significantly less than the $5 billion originally sought.
Lawyers for the Lynch estate sought permission to appeal parts of the High Court’s ruling on liability and later on damages, but were refused. However, the estate can apply directly to the Court of Appeal.
HP welcomed Tuesday’s ruling, saying in a statement that it “brings us one step closer to resolving the dispute.”
The High Court ruled last year that HP suffered losses of almost £698m (just over $1bn at 2011 exchange rates) because it would have paid less for Autonomy if it had known its “true financial position”.
HP is also entitled to charge interest on losses through May 2023, which could amount to hundreds of millions of dollars.
Lynch, once hailed as the British version of Bill Gates, has always maintained his innocence and accused HP of failing to integrate Autonomy. In June 2024, he was cleared of relevant criminal charges in the United States.
Lynch, 59, died when his yacht sank near Sicily while on vacation celebrating his acquittal. His 18-year-old daughter Hannah also died in the accident.
(Reporting by Sam Tobin; Editing by Paul Sandel and Susan Fenton)
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