LONDON (Reuters) -London’s High Court will on Tuesday give its long-awaited ruling on how much Hewlett Packard is owed over its acquisition of British software firm Autonomy by the estate of its late co-founder Mike Lynch and his former business partner.
HP sued Lynch – who died last August when his luxury yacht sank off the coast of Sicily – and Autonomy’s former chief financial officer, Sushovan Hussain, in 2015.
The U.S. technology giant previously said that it planned to “follow the proceedings through to their conclusion”, meaning HP’s case would proceed against Lynch’s estate.
HP had accused Lynch and Hussain of masterminding an elaborate fraud to inflate the value of Autonomy, which HP bought for $11.1 billion in 2011.
The deal spectacularly unravelled, with HP writing down Autonomy’s value by $8.8 billion within a year before it brought a $5 billion lawsuit against Lynch and Hussain in London.
A judge at the High Court ruled in HP’s favour in 2022, though there have been long delays since in determining what damages should be awarded to HP.
Lynch, once hailed as Britain’s answer to Bill Gates, had always maintained his innocence and blamed HP for failing to integrate Autonomy into the company.
He was acquitted of criminal charges over the deal in the U.S. and had intended to appeal the High Court’s 2022 ruling, a process which has been on hold pending a decision on damages.
Lynch, 59, his daughter Hannah, 18, an onboard cook and four guests – Morgan Stanley International Chairman Jonathan Bloomer, his wife Judith, lawyer Chris Morvillo and his wife Neda – died after Lynch’s superyacht Bayesian sank last year.
(Reporting by Sam Tobin; Editing by Jan Harvey)
