Latest news with #Lynch
Sydney Morning Herald
6 hours ago
- Business
- Sydney Morning Herald
Estate of tycoon who died in luxury yacht tragedy ordered to pay billions to Silicon Valley giant
Mike Lynch's estate has been effectively bankrupted after being ordered to pay more than £700 million ($1.44 billion) in a fraud case over the late British tycoon's business dealings. A High Court judge ruled that Hewlett Packard is owed almost £740 million over the fraudulent sale of Lynch's software business Autonomy in 2011. The ruling comes 11 months after Lynch and his daughter Hannah died in a freak storm that sank his Bayesian superyacht. The decision means the software boss would be expected to pass nothing to his widow and surviving daughter, unless the ruling is successfully appealed. His widow, Angela Bacares, has her own assets that are legally separate from her late husband's estate and will not be affected by the ruling. Bacares's stake in technology company Darktrace was worth more than £127 million before the business's sale last year, even after she had sold hundreds of millions of pounds of shares. Lynch sold Autonomy to HP for £7 billion in what was the biggest ever acquisition of a British technology company, but the Silicon Valley giant later accused him of fraud and sued him in the High Court. Loading He was found liable in 2022, but the long-running case was thrown into limbo by his death off the coast of Sicily in August last year. Lynch, 59, and Hannah were among seven who died when the Bayesian capsized. The software entrepreneur had been on holiday to celebrate his acquittal in a criminal trial linked to the disastrous sale of Autonomy.
The Age
6 hours ago
- Business
- The Age
Estate of tycoon who died in luxury yacht tragedy ordered to pay billions to Silicon Valley giant
Mike Lynch's estate has been effectively bankrupted after being ordered to pay more than £700 million ($1.44 billion) in a fraud case over the late British tycoon's business dealings. A High Court judge ruled that Hewlett Packard is owed almost £740 million over the fraudulent sale of Lynch's software business Autonomy in 2011. The ruling comes 11 months after Lynch and his daughter Hannah died in a freak storm that sank his Bayesian superyacht. The decision means the software boss would be expected to pass nothing to his widow and surviving daughter, unless the ruling is successfully appealed. His widow, Angela Bacares, has her own assets that are legally separate from her late husband's estate and will not be affected by the ruling. Bacares's stake in technology company Darktrace was worth more than £127 million before the business's sale last year, even after she had sold hundreds of millions of pounds of shares. Lynch sold Autonomy to HP for £7 billion in what was the biggest ever acquisition of a British technology company, but the Silicon Valley giant later accused him of fraud and sued him in the High Court. Loading He was found liable in 2022, but the long-running case was thrown into limbo by his death off the coast of Sicily in August last year. Lynch, 59, and Hannah were among seven who died when the Bayesian capsized. The software entrepreneur had been on holiday to celebrate his acquittal in a criminal trial linked to the disastrous sale of Autonomy.
The Hindu
9 hours ago
- Business
- The Hindu
UK court awards £700 million to HP in late tycoon's fraud case
A UK court Tuesday awarded £700 million ($946 million) compensation to IT firm Hewlett Packard in a fraud case involving late British tech tycoon Mike Lynch, killed last year when his superyacht sank off Sicily. A UK court ruled in 2022 in favour of the U.S. technology giant, now known as Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE), in a civil case linked to the sale of Lynch's company, Autonomy. Lynch, once dubbed the "British Bill Gates", founded software firm Autonomy in the 1990s. Its $11 billion sale to Hewlett Packard in 2011 also saw him face fraud charges in the United States. HP accused Autonomy of artificially inflating its revenues and growth before the sale and had demanded $5 billion in compensation. "We are pleased that this decision brings us a step closer to the resolution of this dispute," said a spokesperson for Hewlett Packard. "We look forward to the further hearing at which the final amount of HPE's damages will be determined," they added. The further hearing, dealing with matters including interest, currency conversion and whether Lynch's estate can appeal the decision, is scheduled for November. The British court had not yet awarded damages when Lynch was killed along with his 18-year-old daughter Hannah, four friends and the yacht's cook in the sinking of his British-flagged vessel Bayesian in a storm in August 2024. Lynch, 59, his family and guests were on board celebrating his acquittal in the massive U.S. fraud case. The 56-metre (185-foot) yacht was struck by a mini-tornado before dawn as it was anchored off Porticello, near Palermo. Hewlett Packard had recorded nearly $9 billion in write-downs, including more than $5 billion it claimed resulted from accounting manipulations by Autonomy's directors before the sale. But justice Robert Hildyard in the British case wrote in his ruling that "HP's claim was always substantially exaggerated". The initial compensation award had been expected in September 2024, and before his sudden death Lynch had prepared a written reaction to the judgement. The ruling "exposes HP's failure and makes clear that the immense damage to Autonomy was down to HP's own errors and actions", he wrote, adding that the company would consider appealing the decision. A spokesman told AFP any debts would have to be discharged from Lynch's estate.
Business Recorder
13 hours ago
- Business
- Business Recorder
UK court awards £700m to HP in late tycoon's fraud case
LONDON: A UK court Tuesday awarded £700 million ($946 million) compensation to IT firm Hewlett Packard in a fraud case involving late British tech tycoon Mike Lynch, killed last year when his superyacht sank off Sicily. A UK court ruled in 2022 in favour of the US technology giant, now known as HPE, in a civil case linked to the sale of Lynch's company, Autonomy. Lynch, once dubbed the 'British Bill Gates', founded software firm Autonomy in the 1990s. Its $11 billion sale to Hewlett Packard in 2011 also saw him face fraud charges in the United States. HP accused Autonomy of artificially inflating its revenues and growth before the sale. Hewlett Packard had demanded $5 billion in compensation. The company did not reply to an AFP request for comment. The British court had not yet awarded damages when Lynch was killed along with his 18-year-old daughter Hannah, four friends and the yacht's cook in the sinking of his British-flagged vessel Bayesian in a storm in August 2024. Lynch, 59, his family and guests were on board celebrating his acquittal in the massive US fraud case. The 56-metre (185-foot) yacht was struck by a mini-tornado before dawn as it was anchored off Porticello, near Palermo. Hewlett Packard had recorded nearly $9 billion in write-downs, including more than $5 billion it claimed resulted from accounting manipulations by Autonomy's directors before the sale. But justice Robert Hildyard in the British case wrote in his ruling that 'HP's claim was always substantially exaggerated'. The initial compensation award had been expected in September 2024, and before his sudden death Lynch had prepared a written reaction to the judgement.
South Wales Guardian
14 hours ago
- Business
- South Wales Guardian
Hewlett-Packard lost hundreds of millions in Autonomy acquisition, judge rules
The technology firm, now known as Hewlett-Packard Enterprise (HPE), sued the British entrepreneur for around five billion US dollars following its purchase of Cambridge-based Autonomy for 11.1 billion dollars (£8.2 billion) in 2011. The company claimed at a nine-month trial in 2019 that Mr Lynch inflated Autonomy's revenues and 'committed a deliberate fraud over a sustained period of time', which it said forced it to announce an 8.8 billion dollar (£6.5 billion) write-down of the firm's worth just over a year after the acquisition. In a ruling in 2022, Mr Justice Hildyard said the American firm had 'substantially succeeded' in their claim, but that it was likely to receive 'substantially less' than the amount it claimed in damages. He said that Autonomy had not accurately portrayed its financial position during the purchase, but even if it had, HPE would still have bought the company, but at a reduced price. A hearing was then held last year to decide the amount that Mr Lynch must pay in damages, before the businessman died aged 59 along with his 18-year-old daughter, Hannah, and five others when his yacht, the Bayesian, sank off the coast of Sicily last August. On Tuesday, Mr Justice Hildyard ruled that HPE suffered losses amounting to £697,876,753 through the purchasing of Autonomy, some of which is set to be paid by Mr Lynch's estate. He also ruled that Mr Lynch's estate is liable to pay part of around 47.5 million dollars in damages, which is worth around £35 million. Some of the money is due to be paid by Sushovan Hussain, Autonomy's former chief financial officer, who was also sued by HPE. He was convicted in April 2018 in the US of wire fraud and other crimes related to Autonomy's sale, and was sentenced to five years in prison. While he has since settled HPE's claim, he could still be required to pay damages. A further hearing to deal with matters including interest, currency conversion and whether Mr Lynch's estate can appeal against the decision is set to be held in November. Handing down his ruling, Mr Justice Hildyard expressed his 'great sympathy' for Mr Lynch's family, calling his death a 'tragedy'. He said: 'It is a source of anxiety to me that I have to deliver a judgment that will inevitably cause further stress on those involved.' In the 197-page ruling, he said he considered that HPE's claim 'was always substantially exaggerated' and that the five billion dollars figure claimed 'was not based on detailed analysis'. Following the ruling in 2022, Mr Lynch, who was also the founding investor of cybersecurity giant Darktrace, was extradited to the US in May 2023 to face criminal charges after his removal was approved by the then-Home Secretary Priti Patel. He was cleared of accusations that he orchestrated a fraud and conspiracy over Autonomy's sale in the US in June 2024, and was celebrating the acquittal on his yacht at the time of his death. In a statement written before his death, issued posthumously by his representatives on Tuesday, Mr Lynch said: 'Today's High Court ruling reflects that HP's original five billion dollar damages claim was not just a wild overstatement – misleading shareholders – but it was off the mark by 80%. 'HP acquired Autonomy for 11.6 billion dollars and today's judgment is a view that Autonomy's actual value was not even 10% below the price HP paid. 'This result exposes HP's failure and makes clear that the immense damage to Autonomy was down to HP's own errors and actions. 'An appeal process will be considered later this year. 'The English civil case included hearsay evidence from the US and we were never able to question or cross-examine those witnesses. 'This is in direct contrast to the rights of defendants in the US legal system. 'When in the US criminal trial we were able to cross-examine the relevant witnesses, a very different story emerged. Why is the English legal system so trusting?' A spokesperson for HPE said: 'We are pleased that this decision brings us a step closer to the resolution of this dispute. 'We look forward to the further hearing at which the final amount of HPE's damages will be determined.' Jeremy Sandelson, who was appointed by the court as administrator of Mr Lynch's estate, said he would be 'examining the judgment carefully', including whether to appeal both the 2022 ruling and the judgment on Tuesday.
