Mike Lynch riled by reported HP shareholder truce
Reuters report claims disgruntled shareholders have agreed a settlement with HP over Autonomy imbroglio
Autonomy founder Mike Lynch has fired another verbal barb at HP chief executive Meg Whitman following a reported truce between the vendor and disgruntled shareholders.
HP shareholders have been baying for blood since November 2012 following HP's shock announcement that it was absorbing an $8.8bn (£5.2bn) impairment charge relating to its acquisition of Autonomy a year earlier.
According to a Reuters report, under the terms of a settlement, which involves three lawsuits, the attorneys for the shareholders have agreed to drop all claims against HP's current and former executives, including chief executive Meg Whitman.
But this does not include former Autonomy officials. Indeed, as part of the settlement, the attorneys have agreed to assist HP in its pursuit of claims against Lynch and other former officers at the UK software firm, Reuters claimed.
The report, which cited a source "familiar with the HP investigation", said a settlement could be announced as soon as today.
HP's allegations of accounting improprieties at the firm it bought for £7.8bn in 2011 sparked a probe not only by the US SEC but also the UK's Serious Fraud Office (SFO) and led to fears over a wider impact on the UK software industry.
The SFO told Reuters that its probe was "very much in progress".
One of the law firms involved alleged that HP concealed that it had gained control of Autonomy "based on financial statements that could not be relied upon because of serious accounting manipulation".
Lynch has strenuously denied HP's allegations throughout via his AutonomyAccounts.org website, which he took to again in the wake of Friday's report.
"It seems Meg Whitman will be using a large sum of HP's money to avoid explaining in court why she made false allegations regarding Autonomy in November 2012," Lynch wrote. "We continue to reject HP's allegations, and note that over recent months a number of documents have emerged that prove Meg Whitman misled her shareholders."
Lynch added: "We hope this matter will now move beyond a smear campaign based on selective disclosure and HP will finally give a full explanation."Hewlett-Packard is in "serious" talks with shareholders over ending lawsuits connected to its disastrous $11.7bn (£6.5bn) purchase of British software company Autonomy.
HP told The Telegraph that it is in "serious discussions" to settle the Autonomy-related litigation but that "no final deal has been reached yet".