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The estate of the British mogul who tragically perished when his opulent superyacht went down near Sicily has been ordered to pay over $1.2 billion due to a 2015 lawsuit. This ruling could potentially push his widow towards severe financial distress.
Hewlett-Packard (HP), the American technology powerhouse, was awarded this substantial sum after winning its lawsuit aimed at recovering losses from its 2011 acquisition of Mike Lynch’s software company, Autonomy. Lynch was accused of fraudulent activities prior to the sale, as determined by London’s High Court on Tuesday.
Lynch, aged 59, lost his life along with his teenage daughter, Hannah, and five others when their yacht, the Bayesian, sank on August 19, 2024.
Once heralded as Britain’s version of Bill Gates, the late CEO left his wife, Angela Bacares, with an estate valued at $669 million, alongside significant financial and legal challenges following his passing.
Bacares, 58, was among the 15 survivors from the yacht incident, further complicating her situation amidst this legal turmoil.
The ruling from the High Court may send Bacares into bankruptcy to pay out HP’s losses.
Lynch had been battling a lawsuit brought by HP, which accused the Autonomy leader and former chief financial officer, Sushovan Hussain, of masterminding an elaborate fraud scheme to inflate the value of the company before being bought out for $11.1 billion in 2011.
In the 2015 lawsuit, HP argued it was owed $944 million in relation to the difference between the price it paid and the price it would have paid for Autonomy had it known its “true financial position.”
A judge has previously ruled that HP would have paid 23 pounds a share, or $30.79, rather than the 25.50 pounds ($34.15) it actually paid, had it known Autonomy’s “true financial position.”
The High Court denied Lynch’s estate permission to appeal the ruling on Tuesday, but it can still apply directly with the Court of Appeal.
Lynch had been cleared of any criminal charges in the US back in June 2024, but still faced the lawsuit brought against him by HP.
He had maintained his innocence up to his death.
HP celebrated the High Court’s decision, saying the ruling awarded it a total of around $1.24 billion in damages and interest and “brings us another step closer to resolution of the dispute.”
Bacares, who has assets in her own name, has also been sued by a rogue lawyer of the company that built the doomed superyacht, asking for nearly $250 million in “reputational damage.”
Tommaso Bertuccelli, an attorney The Italian Sea Group, filed the lawsuit in Italian court claiming Bacares and the boat crew were liable for the sinking of the Bayesian, according to Fortune.
The luxury sailing ship was carrying 22 people when it capsized and sank during a fierce storm after a tornado-like waterspout hit the area.
At the time of the sinking, the boat was owned by Revtom, a company that listed Bacares as its legal owner.
With Post wires