Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) has vowed to pursue a £3 billion declare towards the property of Mike Lynch, the founding father of British software program firm Autonomy, following his dying onboard the superyacht Bayesian off the coast of Sicily.
The tech tycoon and his 18-year-old daughter, Hannah, have been amongst seven victims when the vessel sank two weeks in the past.
Regardless of Lynch’s passing, HPE confirmed its intention to proceed with the long-running fraud lawsuit towards Lynch and his former chief monetary officer, Sushovan Hussain. An HPE spokesman said: “It is HPE’s intention to follow the proceedings through to their conclusion.”
The US expertise firm is claiming as a lot as $4 billion (£3 billion) within the UK lawsuit, which centres on the 2011 sale of Autonomy to Hewlett Packard for £7 billion. Initially hailed as “Britain’s Bill Gates,” Lynch’s success was marred when the deal soured lower than a yr later, main HPE to sue Lynch and Hussain within the Excessive Court docket in 2015. In 2022, the pair have been discovered accountable for fraud, with the choose describing their actions as “contrived” offers that lacked “commercial substance,” inflating Autonomy’s worth previous to the sale.
Hussain was convicted of US legal expenses associated to the deal in 2018 and sentenced to 5 years in jail. Lynch, nevertheless, was acquitted in a separate trial in June this yr, an end result seen as a big vindication for the entrepreneur. Nonetheless, HPE’s civil case towards him continued, with Mr Justice Hildyard anticipated to rule on the damages by the top of the yr.
HPE reiterated its dedication to pursuing the case towards Lynch’s property, together with any potential appeals following the damages ruling. A spokesman for Lynch’s household declined to touch upon the continued proceedings.
