HPE to pursue $4B claim against estate of Mike Lynch over Autonomy acquisition
- Reference: 1725281903
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2024/09/02/hpe_mike_lynch_damages/
- Source link:
Lynch was [1]cleared in June of criminal fraud in the US over the 2011 sale of software company Autonomy to what was then Hewlett Packard (HP). He was celebrating that outcome with family and friends on his yacht, Bayesian, last month when it was caught in a freak storm and sunk.
The tech entrepreneur and his 18-year-old daughter [2]sadly lost their lives . His wife Angela Bacares, who was also on board, was rescued along with 15 others.
[3]
The claim HPE intends to pursue pertains to an earlier UK civil trial in 2022 which [4]found in favor of HPE's claim that Lynch and ex-CFO Sushovan Hussain had inflated the apparent value of Autonomy during the acquisition, clearing the way for the US firm to sue for damages.
[5]
[6]
In a [7]hearing in London in February , lawyers for HPE argued that the company was entitled to $4 billion as a result of the losses incurred from the fraud, although it has yet to be determined by the High Court how much the compensation should be. The judge had given an opinion that the damages awarded would prove to be significantly lower than what the tech titan was seeking.
A spokesperson at HPE told us today: "In 2022, an English High Court judge ruled that HPE had substantially succeeded in its civil fraud claims against Dr Lynch and Mr Hussain. A damages hearing was held in February 2024 and the judge's decision regarding damages due to HPE will arrive in due course. It is HPE's intention to follow the proceedings through to their conclusion."
[8]
The Register previously asked HPE on August 22, after the news of Lynch's death was confirmed, if it intended to seek financial reparations from his estate and was told HPE "do not think it appropriate to comment on legal matters in these tragic circumstances."
The lack of comment from HPE only served to fuel speculation in some quarters of the UK media that the company was likely to drop the compensation claim in light of the tragic events that unfolded.
Yet it always seemed inevitable - at least to us - that shareholders would still demand financial compensation, and a failure to press for damages could have opened up HPE to a class action from its own stockholders.
[9]UK tech pioneer Mike Lynch dead at 59
[10]Body of IT tycoon Mike Lynch recovered after superyacht sinks
[11]Brit tech mogul Mike Lynch missing after yacht sinks off Sicily amid storms
[12]Brit tech tycoon Mike Lynch cleared of all charges in US Autonomy fraud trial
HPE is incorporated in Delaware. According to financial news site [13]City A.M. , the corporate law of that state means HPE would have to make a reasonable business case to take a lesser settlement. HPE could argue that pursuing Lynch's widow for what it is legally owed would negatively impact its reputation and share price, for example.
HP spent $11 billion to acquire UK-based Autonomy in 2011, but the wisdom of that purchase was questioned even before the deal closed. A year later, the tech giant announced an [14]$8.8 billion write-down from the merger, and called in the financial authorities to investigate.
[15]
In 2015, [16]HP split into separate entities - HP Inc and HPE - with the latter inheriting the Autonomy legal case.
In related news, Sicilian authorities are understood to be widening their [17]investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death of Mr Lynch and six others on the Bayesian. Marine experts are understood to be puzzled by the sinking of the vessel, which was a modern boat that should have withstood the force of the storm. ®
Get our [18]Tech Resources
[1] https://www.theregister.com/2024/06/06/mike_lynch_cleared/
[2] https://www.theregister.com/2024/08/21/mike_lynch_death/
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2ZtXhIqB_RdoT8WhwYRyY1wAAAY4&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[4] https://www.theregister.com/2022/01/28/hpe_multibillion_fraud_trial_mike_lynch_autonomy/
[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44ZtXhIqB_RdoT8WhwYRyY1wAAAY4&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[6] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33ZtXhIqB_RdoT8WhwYRyY1wAAAY4&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2024/02/12/hpe_autonomy_damages/
[8] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44ZtXhIqB_RdoT8WhwYRyY1wAAAY4&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2024/08/21/mike_lynch_death/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2024/08/21/mike_lynch_yacht_death/
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2024/08/19/mike_lynch_missing_yacht/
[12] https://www.theregister.com/2024/06/06/mike_lynch_cleared/
[13] https://www.cityam.com/hewlett-packard-set-to-pursue-mike-lynchs-widow-for-up-to-4bn/
[14] https://www.theregister.com/2012/11/20/hp_alleges_autonomy_fraud/
[15] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33ZtXhIqB_RdoT8WhwYRyY1wAAAY4&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[16] https://www.theregister.com/2015/11/02/hewlett_packard_two_companies/
[17] https://afloat.ie/sail/superyachts/item/64532-bayesian-sinking-italian-authorities-widen-investigation
[18] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
> A spokesperson at HPE told us today: "In 2022, an English High Court judge ruled that HPE had substantially succeeded in its civil fraud claims against Dr Lynch and Mr Hussain.
If HP "substantially succeeded" in 2022 then why did they feel the need to continue with the criminal trial in the US last year, at which Mike Lynch was acquitted? Pure spite, I assume.
It's about time some HP investors started thinking about a lawsuit against HP's board members for not doing the necessary due diligence.
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The continuation of criminal cases is largely determined by the judicial authorities rather than those claiming to have been wronged by the defendant.
Puzzled Experts
Marine experts are understood to be puzzled by the sinking of the vessel, which was a modern boat that should have withstood the force of the storm.
Who are these "marine 'experts'"?
Accidents are the result of a chain of circumstances. Someone(s) being unable to determine the chain of those circumstances neither proves, nor rules out, foul play.
Re: Puzzled Experts
being unable to determine the chain of those circumstances neither proves, nor rules out, foul play.
It's not foul play they are trying to determine. The question is was it a design/construction fault in which case the builders and designers are in big trouble or was it negligence by the crew/passengers - wedging a bulkhead door open or maybe a hatch wasn't closed properly in which case the builders & designers are off the hook.
Re: Puzzled Experts
Or having won against HPE ?
The valuation of Autonomy was for HPE to have determined at the time. They decided on the valuation, and they would have run that through a lot of checks and due diligence. This is what failed.
You don't go on what the owner of the thing being valued suggests. Everything that is said, you check.
The decision to buy was entirely down to HPE.
I would laugh if the conclusion what that yes, there was civil fraud, but the damages are limited to £0.
HPE couldn't even leave it a month before trying to take advantage of the widow who will be in a vulnerable state.
I certainly won't be buying anything again from HPE, nor HP by association.
> I would laugh if the conclusion what that yes, there was civil fraud, but the damages are limited to £0.
Why would you find being a victim of crime and not being compensated for being a victim so funny?
``If some street hustler challenges you to a game of three card monte you don't need to bother to play, just hand him the money, not because you're going to lose but because you owe him for the insight: he selected you.'' -- [1]TLP .
It's not like hp has [2]a history of [3]poor leadership or [4]anything .
[1] https://thelastpsychiatrist.com/2013/05/dove.html
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hewlett-Packard_spying_scandal
[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carly_Fiorina
[4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L%C3%A9o_Apotheker
Fucking protozoic scum
Icon - just imagine it's the middle finger.
Re: Fucking protozoic scum
Indeed, a despicable company.
Erratum or Corrigendum?
HPE to pursue $4B claim against estate of Mike Lynch over Autonomy acquisition ....... Dan Robinson/El Reg
Should that not be, Dan, to reflect the more very likely unsavoury truth, lawyers billing HPE to pursue $4B claim against estate of Mike Lynch over Autonomy acquisition? It’s certainly proving itself to be a nice little earner for them surely?
To its conclusion
God I hope that the conclusion will be that HPE can go fuck itself.
And attacking a widow just demonstrates the zombie state of the HPE board.
You've fucking lost. Admit it already.
Conspiracy Theory Tim reporting for duty. Mike Lynch is alive.
And living with Lord Lucan and Elvis in a double-decker bus on the moon, taking Shergar for daily rides to the blue cheese mines & Mars Landing film-set?
I hope that this decision loses them 100x the damages they think they deserve. If I ran a company which bought products or service from HPE then I'd be on the phone to the lawyers to find a reason to cancel them.