The High Court has ruled that the estate of British tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch and his former business partner, Sushovan Hussain, owe more than £700 million to Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) following a long-running legal battle over the sale of UK software firm Autonomy.
The decision, delivered Tuesday, follows years of litigation stemming from HPE’s 2011 $11.1 billion acquisition of Autonomy, which it later claimed was based on fraudulently inflated financials. The case was delayed after Lynch, 58, tragically died in August last year when his yacht, The Bayesian, capsized during a storm off the coast of Sicily. His teenage daughter Hannah and five others also perished.
The High Court found that Lynch and Autonomy’s former CFO, Hussain, misrepresented the company’s true financial position, leading HPE to overpay significantly for the acquisition.
“HPE paid more than it would have done had Autonomy’s true financial position been correctly presented,” the court stated.
Although the final damages figure is yet to be confirmed, the ruling confirms HPE’s legal victory after more than a decade of proceedings on both sides of the Atlantic.
Before his death, Lynch had criticised HPE’s lawsuit, calling the initial $5 billion claim a “wild overstatement.” In a prepared statement written before his death, Lynch argued:
“HPE acquired Autonomy for $11.6bn, and today’s judgment suggests its actual value was not even 10% below that price. The case relied heavily on hearsay from U.S. sources, whom we never had the chance to cross-examine.”
The court acknowledged Lynch’s contribution to the tech sector and expressed sympathy for his passing. Mr. Justice Hildyard, who oversaw the case, remarked:
“I admire Dr. Lynch’s innovation and regret this devastating turn of events. My condolences go out to his family.”
Hussain, who was convicted in the U.S. in 2018 and sentenced to five years in prison, had already settled separately with HPE. Meanwhile, Lynch was cleared of U.S. fraud charges in 2024, shortly before his fatal yacht trip celebrating the verdict.
HPE welcomed the outcome, stating it moves the company closer to closure.
“We are pleased that this decision brings us a step closer to the resolution of this dispute,” an HPE spokesperson said. “We look forward to further hearing at which the final amount of HPE’s damages will be determined.”
A follow-up hearing is scheduled for November 2025, where the court will determine whether Lynch’s estate can appeal the ruling. It will also decide how the damages will be apportioned between the estate and Hussain.
Autonomy, once one of Britain’s most celebrated tech success stories, saw its reputation collapse following HPE’s $8.8 billion write-down in 2012, citing “serious accounting improprieties.”
The saga leaves a mixed legacy: a celebrated innovator cleared of criminal wrongdoing in the U.S., but whose business empire has been legally tainted at home. As legal proceedings inch toward finality, questions linger about how global tech giants, courts, and corporate watchdogs assess risk and accountability in high-stakes mergers.
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