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 HP’s $11 billion (£8.2 billion) acquisition of Lynch’s software firm Autonomy in 2011, which a UK court in 2022 found was based on fraudulent misrepresentation by Lynch.
Lynch died in August 2024 alongside his 18-year-old daughter Hannah and five others when his superyacht sank off Sicily. He had been celebrating his acquittal on US fraud charges related to the same Autonomy deal. His estate is estimated to be worth about £500 million, meaning the damages could leave it bankrupt.
HP split into two companies in 2015: HP Inc., focusing on printers and PCs, and HPE, which pursued the civil claim. HPE had sought up to $4.55 billion in damages, but the High Court last year ruled that figure was “always exaggerated” and set compensation at £700 million. The £920 million total includes costs and interest.
Lawyers for Lynch’s estate sought permission to appeal Tuesday’s ruling but were refused. However, the estate can apply directly to the Court of Appeal. HPE welcomed the decision, stating it “brings us another step closer to resolution of the dispute.”
A spokesperson for the Lynch family expressed disappointment, arguing that HP’s $5 billion claim was “vastly exaggerated” and that Lynch’s US acquittal “exposed the truth.” They added: “The damage to Autonomy was the result of HP’s own actions and failures, not wrongdoing at Autonomy.”
