Mike Lynch, often dubbed the UK's answer to Bill Gates, is reported missing after a luxury yacht sank off the coast of Sicily this morning.
Lynch founded Autonomy, which Hewlett-Packard bought for $11 billion in 2011.
Multiple reports suggest the British entrepreneur is missing after the Bayesian, a 56-meter superyacht, sank near Porticello in storms at around 5am local time.
It is understood Lynch's wife, Angela Bacares, was rescued while seven others remain missing, according to a statement from officials from the City Council of Bagheria.
Karsten Borner, the captain of a ship that rescued the survivors, told local news outlets that there was a "strong hurricane gust and we had to start the engine to keep the ship in an angled position."
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In June, Lynch was acquitted of criminal fraud and conspiracy charges arising from the 2011 sale of Autonomy to HP. A federal court jury in San Francisco cleared Lynch of all 15 charges relating to allegation that he, along with Stephen Chamberlain, formerly VP of finance at Autonomy, unlawfully inflated the company's value prior to its acquisition.
HP paid $11 billion for Autonomy, an enterprise search firm, but within a year wrote down the deal by $8.8 billion. Years of legal wrangling followed. HP shareholders sued in 2012. In 2015, HP sued Lynch and Sushovan Hussain, former Autonomy CFO, in the High Court of England and Wales. Lynch responded by filing a $150 million countersuit for defamation.
In 2022, HPE – which inherited the civil litigation after HP split into HPE and HP Inc – prevailed in that British civil case and is seeking $4 billion in damages. ®