The estate of the late British tech tycoon Mike Lynch has been ordered by London’s High Court to pay £920 million to Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) in compensation, costs, and interest. The ruling stems from the 2011 takeover of Lynch’s software firm Autonomy by Hewlett-Packard (HP), which later split into HP and HPE.
In 2022, a UK legal ruling found that Lynch had duped HP into paying $11 billion (£8.2 billion) for Autonomy. HP accused Lynch and Autonomy’s former chief financial officer Sushovan Hussain of inflating the firm’s value before the takeover, leading to an $8.8 billion write-down within a year of the purchase.
Lynch and six others, including his 18-year-old daughter Hannah, died in August 2024 when their superyacht sank off the coast of Sicily. The tragedy occurred during a trip to celebrate his acquittal on US fraud charges related to the same Autonomy deal.
HPE had sought damages of up to $4.55 billion from Lynch’s estate, but the High Court last year ruled the claim “always exaggerated,” setting compensation at £700 million. The £920 million figure includes costs and interest. Lynch’s estate, estimated at about £500 million, may be left bankrupt by the payout.
Lawyers for the estate sought permission to appeal Tuesday’s ruling, which was refused, but they can apply directly to the Court of Appeal. HPE welcomed the decision, saying it “brings us another step closer to resolution.” A spokesperson for the Lynch family expressed disappointment, stating that HP’s claim was “without foundation” and that Lynch’s US acquittal exposed the truth.
