Mike Lynch's estate refused permission to appeal in UK HP-Autonomy case

LONDON, March 24 (Reuters) - The estate of late British tech tycoon Mike Lynch was on Tuesday refused permission to appeal a ruling by London's High Court that he was liable to Hewlett Packard Enterprise HPE.N over its acquisition of his firm Autonomy.

The U.S. technology giant Hewlett Packard is trying to recoup losses arising from its 2011 acquisition of Autonomy for $11.1 billion from the estate of Lynch, who died in 2024 when his luxury yacht sank off Sicily.

HP accused Lynch and Autonomy's former chief financial officer, Sushovan Hussain, of inflating the firm's value before the takeover. HP wrote down Autonomy's worth by $8.8 billion within a year of the purchase.

In 2022, the High Court found Lynch and Hussain liable to HP over the deal, though a judge said HP would get considerably less than the $5 billion originally sought.

Lawyers for Lynch's estate sought permission to appeal against the High Court's ruling on liability and parts of a later ruling on damages, which was refused. But the estate can apply directly to the Court of Appeal.

HP welcomed Tuesday's ruling, which it said in a statement "brings us another step closer to resolution of the dispute".

The High Court ruled last year that HP suffered losses of nearly 698 million pounds – just over $1 billion at 2011 exchange rates – as it would have paid a lower price for Autonomy had it known its "true financial position".

HP is also entitled to interest on its losses up to May 2023, which is likely to run into hundreds of millions of dollars.

Lynch, once hailed as Britain's answer to Bill Gates, always maintained his innocence and blamed HP for failing to integrate Autonomy. He was cleared of related criminal charges in the United States in June 2024.

Lynch, 59, died that August when his yacht sank off Sicily during a holiday to celebrate his acquittal. His 18-year-old daughter Hannah also died in the accident.