Lynch estate ordered to pay £700m following Autonomy trial

A decade of civil litigation over the sale of UK startup Autonomy to IT giant Hewlett-Packard reached a further stage today with the High Court ordering the estate of Autonomy founder Mike Lynch to pay a total of more than £700 million. The judgment, handed down by Mr Justice Hildyard, follows the judge's 2022 ruling that Lynch fraudulently inflated Autonomy's value. 

The quantum judgment was delayed by what Hildyard described as 'three extraordinary events': Lynch's acquittal following a criminal trial in the US, the death of his co-defendant in August last year - and the death of Lynch himself in the loss of the yacht Bayesian. 

Today's judgment in Autonomy Corporation & Ors v  Lynch & Anor adds nearly 200 pages to the 1,500-page ruling handed down in 2022. It settles three claims by Hewlett-Packard relating to Autonomy's failure to disclose its true financial position properly and accurately. The largest element, £646.2m, is based on the difference between the $11.6bn paid for Autonomy and the price HP would have been prepared to agree if Autonomy's true financial position had been presented. 

It is understood that the award will bankrupt the Lynch estate. 

In a postscript to the judgment, Hildyard said of the Bayesian tragedy: 'I wish to express my sorrow at this devastating turn of events, and my sympathy and deepest condolences, having come to know and admire Dr Lynch (notwithstanding my findings against him) over the course of a very long trial.'

A spokesperson for Hewlett Packard Enterprise said: 'We are pleased that this decision brings us a step closer to the resolution of this dispute.'