Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) has announced that it will continue to pursue a $4 billion damages claim against the estate of tech mogul Mike Lynch following his untimely death in a yacht wreck off the coast of Sicily. The company had previously sued Lynch and his former chief financial officer Sushovan Hussain for allegedly inflating the value of Autonomy before its acquisition for $11 billion in 2011.
Although a civil claim against Lynch in the UK’s High Court yielded a victory for HPE, the damages awarded were less than the $5 billion initially sought. Despite Lynch’s passing in the yacht accident, HPE has stated that they intend to see the legal proceedings through to their conclusion. Lynch’s wife Angela Bacares, who survived the wreck, could potentially be held liable for damages as well.
Prior to his death, Lynch had been acquitted of fraud charges related to the Autonomy sale in a criminal trial in San Francisco. Lynch had consistently denied any wrongdoing and expressed his joy at the verdict, looking forward to returning to the UK to spend time with his family and continue innovating in his field.
Lynch founded Autonomy in 1996, which was later acquired by HPE in 2011 in what was then the most expensive takeover of a British tech company. However, less than a year later, HPE reported accounting misrepresentations leading to an $8.8 billion writedown. The ongoing legal battle between HPE and Lynch’s estate adds another chapter to the controversial legacy of the Autonomy acquisition.
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