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HP's billion-euro deal fraud case result in acquittal.

HP's acquisition of software company Autonomy proved to be a massive failure in Silicon Valley, with the founder of the latter recently being cleared of any fraud accusations.

, and James Williams

2024 June 7 . 12:39 AM

1 min read

In the long-running dispute over allegations of fraud in a multi-billion dollar acquisition by... — In the long-running dispute over allegations of fraud in a multi-billion dollar acquisition by computer giant HP, Lynch and financial manager Stephen Keith Chamberlain were acquitted by the jury in San Francisco, as US media reported from the courtroom.

Computing program - HP's billion-euro deal fraud case result in acquittal.

In a protracted legal battle over claims of fraud in the $11 billion acquisition of technology behemoth HP, a senior British official has managed to persuade an American jury of his innocence. The deal involving the software firm Autonomy took place in 2011.

Afterward, HP incurred massive write-offs and US prosecutors implicated Autonomy's CEO Michael Lynch and CFO Stephen Keith Chamberlain for manipulating financial statements. On Wednesday, a court in San Francisco exonerated both men as per media reports coming out of the trial.

This verdict came as a shock considering Lynch had already been found guilty in a court case in Britain in 2022. There, one of HP's successor companies, HPE, is seeking $4 billion in damages from Lynch. The Autonomy purchase is seen as one of the most disastrous takeovers in Silicon Valley.

The 58-year-old has consistently maintained his innocence and alleged that HP was attempting to make him the fall guy for the flawed transaction. The US prosecutors had charged him in San Francisco in 2018, claiming he gained a whopping $800 million from the deal. A former Autonomy CFO had also been found guilty of fraud and received a five-year sentence in jail.