HP to pursue $4 billion damages lawsuit against Mike Lynch

Hewlett Packard has said it will continue legal proceedings to seek up to $4 billion in damages from the estate of British billionaire Mike Lynch in the UK.

The US company has sought compensation for its acquisition of British technology company Autonomy amid allegations of fraud initiated by its co-founder Mike Lynch to inflate the company’s value.

Related: Sunken superyacht could cost insurers at least $150 million, experts say

Lynch, who died in August when his yacht sank off the coast of Sicily, has denied any wrongdoing.

“HPE’s intention is to pursue the proceedings to their conclusion,” the company said in an emailed statement to Reuters.

Related: Yacht insurer OMAC is hull carrier for sunken yacht off Sicily, sources say

HP had bought Autonomy for $11.1 billion in 2011 in one of the biggest UK tech deals. But in late 2012, the company said it had discovered a massive accounting scandal at the British tech firm.

In 2022, HP won a civil suit against Lynch, but a High Court judge said any damages would be less than the $5 billion HP had sought.

A spokesman for Lynch’s family said they had no comment to share at this stage.

The company filed the lawsuit against both Lynch and Autonomy’s former chief financial officer, Sushovan Hussain.

(Reporting by Bose in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by Catarina Demony; Editing by Mark Porter)