Are you a client?
Sign in to view the full news archive.
As readers will know, I have known Mike Lynch for over 25 years and have written over 200 articles on Autonomy, the UK Hewlett Packard Enterprise case, the US trial, and the tragedy of Mike’s death back in August 2024. Just search the TechMarketView archive.
Today, Mr Justice Hildyard awarded damages of £730m – although this could be a lot higher if interest is added. Of course, this is a far cry from the $4.6b that HPE had claimed. Hildyard, in his judgment, said that if Autonomy’s accounts had been properly stated, it would have valued Autonomy shares at £23 rather than the £25.50 they paid.
I have never argued for Mike’s innocence – rather, the totally unfair way he (and other defendants like Autonomy’s CFO Sushovan Hussain, who actually served time in jail for this) had been treated by HPE, the UK justice system, and the US/UK Extradition Treaty. Lynch was found Not Guilty last year in the US courts.
Having reported on thousands of M&A transactions in my 40 years as ‘the UK’s oldest IT analyst’, I can’t think of any case where suing someone for getting your valuation wrong by 10% would have got any traction.
This £730m award is against Mike’s estate, which the Times Rich List estimates at £473m. So it would probably go bankrupt. Indeed, they might even go after Mike’s wife – Angela Bacares – assets too. Not good optics, as Mike also lost his daughter Hannah in the Bayesian disaster last year.
Far be it from me to offer advice to HPE, but I think the reputational damage this is doing/has done to them by pursuing this case for the last decade is far higher than the damages currently awarded. If I was them, I would ‘quietly’ settle this with Mike’s estate for a reduced amount and put an end to this whole sorry affair.
Posted by: Richard Holway at 08:17