The estate of the British tycoon killed when his luxury superyacht sank off the coast of Sicily was ordered to pay over $1.2 billion stemming from a 2015 lawsuit, a ruling that could drag his widow into a devastating bankruptcy.
American tech giant Hewlett-Packard (HP) was handed the 10-figure award after it successfully won its case seeking to recoup from its losses in the 2011 acquisition of Mike Lynch’s software firm, Autonomy, he was accused of fraudulently manipulating before the sale, London’s High Court ruled Tuesday.
Lynch, 59, was killed alongside his teen daughter, Hannah, and five others when his superyacht, Bayesian, sank on Aug. 19, 2024.
The late CEO — once dubbed Britain’s Bill Gates — left his widow, Angela Bacares, with his estate, estimated at $669 million, along with financial and legal headaches after his death.
Bacares, 58, survived the sinking on the superyacht, along with 14 others on board.
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
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