Hewlett Packard (HP) has won a multibillion-dollar fraud case over its acquisition of British software company Autonomy. The US tech giant bought Cambridge-based Autonomy for $11bn in 2011.
HP sued Autonomy's founder and former chief financial officer, claiming they 'artificially inflated Autonomy's reported revenues, revenue growth and gross margins'. Mr Justice Hildyard ruled that HP had 'substantially won' its case, in what was believed to be the UK's biggest civil fraud trial.
The judge said the amount of damages to be paid would be dealt with at a later date. His full ruling remains under embargo. Autonomy founder Mike Lynch, who denies all charges, faces extradition to the US on separate criminal fraud charges, with Home Secretary Priti Patel due to decide by midnight on Friday.
Dr Lynch's lawyer said his client intends to appeal, calling the outcome 'disappointing'. He noted the judge's concerns over the reliability of some HP witnesses and that any loss would likely be 'substantially less than the $5bn claimed'.
