Former Autonomy CEO Michael Lynch testified on Tuesday that his preference was to keep Autonomy independent rather than sell it to Hewlett-Packard (HP) for $11 billion in 2011. Lynch is currently on trial in San Francisco, facing allegations of accounting fraud intended to inflate Autonomy’s value and mislead HP. Prosecutors claim that Lynch engaged in various deceptive tactics, including inflating revenues and issuing misleading annual reports [after HP fired CEO Leo Apotheker](https://www.law.com/corpcounsel/2024/05/29/autonomy-ceo-denies-misleading-hp-says-its-own-blunders-made-11b-buyout-a-flop/).
Lynch argued that HP’s internal failures contributed to the disastrous outcome of the acquisition. He specifically noted the chaotic period following the dismissal of CEO Leo Apotheker, which led to a lack of a transition plan and effectively put operations at a standstill. According to Lynch, “there was total chaos and paralysis for weeks.” He added, “There was no transition plan, no handing over of the Autonomy plan. It was back to square one.”