Costly Misstep? Hewlett Packard Claims $4B Losses From Autonomy Deal: Report

Editor’s Note: The story has been updated to change the references of Hewlett Packard Enterprise to HPE

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co HPE lawyer reportedly said the company lost over $4 billion on the acquisition of British software firm Autonomy.

The U.S. technology giant’s lawyer disclosed the loss which occured due to an elaborate fraud masterminded by Autonomy co-founder Mike Lynch to inflate the company’s value, reported Reuters.

Hewlett Packard is seeking to recoup losses in a lawsuit brought against Lynch, once hailed as Britain’s answer to Bill Gates, and Autonomy’s former chief financial officer, Sushovan Hussain, the report read.

The report cited his lawyer, David Wolfson, who said in court filings that the price HPE would have paid “would not have been materially different,” in part because of Autonomy’s unique technology and HPE’s strategic rationale for the acquisition.

The U.S. technology giant acquired Autonomy for $11.1 billion in 2011, with HPE writing down Autonomy’s value by $8.8 billion within a year.

Following one of the longest civil trials in English legal history, HPE in 2022 substantially won its case, though a High Court judge said ‘any damages would be significantly less than the $5 billion HPE had claimed,’ the report added.

Lynch intends to seek permission to appeal against the 2022 ruling, which has been delayed until after the determination of damages, his lawyers said earlier.

Price Action: HPE shares are trading higher by 1.10% at $15.65 on the last check Monday.