A Fortune Sinks with the Yacht—And HPE Makes an Unexpected Power Move

Tech giant Hewlett Packard Enterprise isn't backing down from its legal battle with the late Mike Lynch's estate, even after the British businessman's tragic death off the Italian coast. HPE wants Lynch's estate to pay a whopping $4 billion.

Back in 2022, a UK court sided with HPE, agreeing that Lynch and his CFO, Sushovan Hussain, had pulled a fast one when they sold their company, Autonomy.

The origin of this entire situation can be traced back to 2011, when HPE acquired Lynch's company, Autonomy, for a cool $11 billion. In 2015, HPE sued Lynch and Hussain for $6.5 billion, claiming they'd been duped during the sale.

A damages hearing was held in February 2024, months before Lynch was acquitted in a separate US trial related to the Autonomy sale. HPE said in a statement the judge's decision on damages is expected "in due course."

"It is HPE's intention to follow the proceedings through to their conclusion," the statement continued.

The Associated Press reports that Lynch's wife Angela Bacares, who made it out alive when the yacht went down, could be liable for the damages. Their daughter Hannah, just 18, wasn't as lucky.

A spokesperson for Lynch's family declined to comment when contacted by PEOPLE on Tuesday, September 3. 

Judge Robert Hildyard previously indicated the damages awarded would likely be "substantially" less than HPE's initial claim, though the final amount remains undetermined, according to the AP.

According to a source close to the survivors who previously informed PEOPLE, the yacht had traveled from the Aeolian Islands to celebrate Lynch's recent acquittal, the conclusion of a legal saga that began in 2018, when he was prosecuted on multiple counts of securities fraud and conspiracy. 

The luxury yacht Bayesian sank off Sicily on August 19, killing seven people, including Lynch and his daughter. Other victims included New York lawyer Christopher Morvillo, who helped in Lynch's US acquittal, Morvillo's wife Neda, Morgan Stanley International chairman Jonathan Bloomer and his wife, and the yacht's chef.

Italian authorities have launched a manslaughter investigation into the sinking.

Lynch had planned to appeal the UK court's fraud ruling before his death. The tech mogul consistently denied wrongdoing about the Autonomy sale.

HPE's continued pursuit of the fraud claims against Lynch's estate adds another layer of complexity to the legal aftermath of the Autonomy acquisition, which has been ongoing for over a decade.