A High Court judge has ruled that Hewlett-Packard Enterprise (HPE) suffered losses totalling nearly £700 million from its 2011 acquisition of British software firm Autonomy. Founded by entrepreneur Mike Lynch, Autonomy was sold to HP for £8.2 billion, but the tech giant later accused Lynch of fraudulently inflating the company’s value. The judge, Mr Justice Hildyard, had previously found that HP had “substantially succeeded” in its claim, although he noted the damages would be far less than the original $5 billion sought.
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On Tuesday, the court confirmed HPE’s losses as £697,876,753, with a portion to be paid by the estate of Mr Lynch, who died in August 2023 in a yacht accident that also claimed the life of his daughter and five others. The estate is also responsible for part of an additional £35 million in damages. Some liability also lies with Sushovan Hussain, Autonomy’s former CFO, who was previously convicted in the US of fraud related to the sale.
Mr Lynch, who was extradited to the US in 2023, was acquitted of all criminal charges in June 2024. In a statement written before his death, Mr Lynch criticised HP’s claim as “wildly overstated” and blamed HP’s own actions for the fallout. He expressed frustration with the British civil case, citing the inability to challenge hearsay evidence, in contrast to the rights afforded to defendants under the US system.
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HPE welcomed the ruling as a step towards resolving the long-running dispute and confirmed that a further hearing would be held in November to address remaining matters, including interest and currency issues. Mr Lynch’s estate, overseen by Jeremy Sandelson, is considering whether to appeal the decision. The judge concluded by expressing sympathy to Lynch’s family, acknowledging the tragic circumstances of his death.
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