The latest developments in the case will see a court battle take place in 2018.
The Royal Courts of Justice, where the UK High Court is based
Former Autonomy CEO Mike Lynch, alongside Finance Director Sushovan Hussain, were named in a claim filed for $5.1 billion (€4.7 billion) in damages at the UK High Court in April 2015, after HP acquired Autonomy in 2011, but wrote down its worth in November 2012, claiming that “accounting fraud and inflated financials” from Autonomy officials, including Lynch, were to blame.
HP’s shareholders sued HP for mismanagement, though a settlement was announced in June 2014 and secured in March 2015, before the UK Serious Fraud Office closed its investigation into the circumstances of the acquisition in January 2015, and “ceded legal jurisdiction to US authorities”. Now, Bloomberg has reported that the “saga […] is set to drag on at least two more years”, with lawyers appearing in court on 21 January to “set out their case”.
The lawyers for HP are defending the OEM against a countersuit from Lynch filed in October 2015, for $160 million (€147 million), in which he claimed HP “has ruined his reputation”, while HP has given a breakdown of what the $5.1 billion case concerns. It is seeking $4.58 billion (€4.22 billion) for the “amount It overpaid for the deal” and an extra $420 million (€387 million) for shares “it bought from the men at the time of the takeover”, with Lynch paid $730 million (€673 million) and Hussain $14 million (€12 million).