On Thursday, Mike Lynch was acquitted of fraud charges in the United States concerning the $11 billion sale of his software firm, Autonomy, to Hewlett-Packard (HP) in 2011.
A San Francisco jury found the British tech tycoon not guilty on all counts, marking a significant victory for Lynch, who had consistently denied allegations of inflating Autonomy’s value.
Lynch, who had faced over 20 years in prison if convicted, testified that his focus was on technology rather than accounting. He distanced himself from other executives, including the former chief financial officer, who was convicted of fraud in 2018.
Following the verdict, Lynch expressed his elation and gratitude, stating that he looks forward to returning to the UK and resuming his work.
Lynch co-founded Autonomy in 1996, building it into a leading UK tech company known for software that extracts data from unstructured sources. Despite its initial success, HP wrote down Autonomy’s value by $8.8 billion a year after the acquisition, leading to prolonged legal battles.
Lynch and another former executive, Stephen Chamberlain, were both acquitted, marking the end of a 13-year legal saga.
