U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer granted preliminary approval to the proposed
settlement.
The settlement, agreed on 13 March, releases HP from investor claims related to the controversial Autonomy deal in exchange for a batch of corporate governance reforms and no money damages. This is the third settlement of the case attempted by HP. The reforms include the creation of a risk management committee, changes to the board’s oversight of mergers and acquisitions and a new due diligence policy for mergers.
HP bought out the UK software firm in 2011, but decided to take the former owners to court after its value was written down by $8.8 billion (€8.3 billion) from the $10bn (€9.4 billion) deal in 2012, claiming incorrect accounting on the part of Autonomy had led to an inflated value for the company.
The Recycler reported in 2014 how Breyer had criticised the previous settlement for absolving HP executives of responsibility for the botched takeover.
Breyer said: “The third amended settlement is within the range of possible approval because it appears to be a fundamentally fair, adequate, and reasonable resolution of shareholders claims.”