Lynch Estate Hit With £700m HP Payout

The financial saga surrounding the late British software mogul Dr. Mike Lynch has taken a major turn. A UK High Court judge has ruled that his estate, along with former business partner Sushovan Hussain, must pay Hewlett-Packard (now HPE) around £700 million in damages. This colossal sum stems from the fraudulent sale of their software company Autonomy 14 years ago.

The ruling, delivered by Mr. Justice Hildyard yesterday, marks the culmination of a lengthy civil dispute. The judge found that HPE suffered losses of about £646 million due to Autonomy's true valuation, plus an additional £51.7 million in personal claims against Lynch and Hussain. This judgment, coming less than a year after Lynch's tragic death, is expected to deplete his personal estate.

However, a significant portion of the Lynch family's wealth, strategically managed and held in his widow Angela Bacares's name, appears largely protected from the legal fallout. This has brought renewed attention to her financial acumen.

Mike Lynch had famously expressed confidence in his financial situation after being acquitted of criminal fraud charges in the US. "My wife has been very good at investing in the things that I’ve told her to from a point of view of technology. We’ve done very well," Lynch stated after his US victory. "It’s not a perilous situation."

Angela Bacares, 58, who worked in finance, held a dominant stake in Lynch's subsequent venture, cybersecurity firm Darktrace. At its London stock market debut, she owned 12.8% of the company compared to Lynch's 4.9%. Both had largely sold their stakes before Darktrace's $5.3 billion acquisition by private equity firm Thoma Bravo last year, netting hundreds of millions. Bacares also holds a substantial stake in Luminance, a legal AI company. Even personal assets, including their Suffolk estate Loudham Hall and the superyacht Bayesian, were held in her name.

The court ruling comes as new details emerge from the ongoing investigation into the sinking of the superyacht Bayesian off Sicily last August. The tragedy claimed seven lives, including Dr. Lynch, his daughter Hannah, and his lawyer Chris Morvillo. An interim report from the UK's Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) indicates the yacht "may have been vulnerable to high winds" and had "unrecognised vulnerabilities" in its stability when sails were furled and the centreboard raised. "Convective storm squalls" caused the yacht to tip 90 degrees in under 15 seconds.

The Bayesian's hull was salvaged last month and is now with Italian authorities for forensic examination as part of a criminal investigation. While families of the deceased are seeking compensation from the vessel's insurer, a $250 million lawsuit against Angela Bacares by the yacht's manufacturer was withdrawn shortly after being filed last September, with the manufacturer claiming it was unauthorized.

Lynch's legal team is expected to consider an appeal against the £700 million judgment. A further hearing is set for November to determine interest, currency conversion, and the formal appeal process. However, even if the estate is bankrupt, the strategic division of wealth ensures the Lynch family's financial security, with Angela Bacares controlling a significant fortune.