HPE is not giving up on its claim against Mike Lynch, the Autonomy founder who died last month when his yacht sank.
The company says it will continue to pursue a claim of up to $4-billion in civil fraud damages from Lynch’s estate.
Lynch had been acquitted of fraud and conspiracy charges that could have carried a jail sentence shortly before the fatal accident, but HPE is still pursuing civil damages relating to its acquisition of Autonomy in 2011.
HP bought the UK-based software company for 11-billion and wrote down $8,8-billion, later accusing Lynch of deception and fraud.
HP fired Leo Apotheker, the HP CEO who concluded, and later fired Lynch as well.
Apart from civil damages, where the court found largely in favour of HPE, Lynch was also charged with fraud and conspiracy in the US and, in 2023, extradited from the UK to defend the charges, which carried a potential 20-year jail sentence.
Two months ago, a court found him and co-accused Stephen Chamberlain, a former Autonomy vice-president of finance, not guilty of those charges.
Chamberlain has also since died, after being hit by a car just a week before Lynch’s death.
Lynch, he daughter Hannah, Morgan Stanley International chairman Jonathan Bloomer and his wife Judy Bloomer, as well as lawyer Christopher Morvillo and his wife Neda Morvillo all died when Lynch’s yacht capsized in a freak storm off the coast of Sicily.
HPE has stated that, once the judge delivers a decision in the civil case, it will follow the proceedings to their conclusion, including making a claim on Lynch’s estate.