The estate of British entrepreneur Mike Lynch is effectively bankrupt after being told to pay Hewlett-Packard £700 million in a court case.
Billionaire Mr Lynch, 59, and his daughter Hannah, 18, were among seven people who died when the superyacht Bayesian sank off Sicily on August 19.
A High Court judge ruled HP lost hundreds of millions of pounds through its acquisition of Cambridge-based software company Autonomy, which was founded by Lynch.
It means he would be expected to pass nothing to his widow Angela Bacares - who survived the disaster - and surviving daughter Esme, unless there is an appeal.
On Tuesday, Mr Justice Hildyard said HP suffered losses amounting to £697,876,753 through the purchasing of Autonomy, some of which is set to be paid by Mr Lynch’s estate.
He also ruled the estate of Mr Lynch - once hailed as the UK’s answer to Bill Gates - is liable to pay part of around $47.5 million in damages, around £35 million.
Some of the money is due to be paid by Sushovan Hussain, Autonomy’s former chief financial officer, who was also sued by HP.
He was convicted in April 2018 in the US of wire fraud and other crimes related to Autonomy’s sale, and was sentenced to five years in prison.
While he has since settled HP’s claim, he could still be required to pay damages.
A further hearing to deal with matters including interest, currency conversion and whether Mr Lynch’s estate can appeal against the decision is set to be held in November.
Handing down his ruling, Mr Justice Hildyard expressed his “great sympathy” for Mr Lynch’s family, calling his death a “tragedy”.
He said: “It is a source of anxiety to me that I have to deliver a judgment that will inevitably cause further stress on those involved.”
In the 197-page ruling, he said he considered that HP’s claim “was always substantially exaggerated” and that the five billion dollars figure claimed “was not based on detailed analysis”.
A spokesman for HP, now known as Hewlett-Packard Enterprise, said: “We are pleased that this decision brings us a step closer to the resolution of this dispute.
“We look forward to the further hearing at which the final amount of HPE's damages will be determined.”
Jeremy Sandelson, appointed by the court as administrator of Mr Lynch’s estate, said he would be “examining the judgment carefully”.
Inquest proceedings in the UK are looking at the deaths of Mr Lynch and his daughter, as well as Morgan Stanley International bank chairman Jonathan Bloomer, 70, and his wife, Judy Bloomer, 71, who were all British nationals.
Fifteen people, including Mr Lynch’s wife, Angela Bacares, were rescued.
Mr Lynch and his daughter were said to have lived in the vicinity of London and the Bloomers lived in Sevenoaks, Kent.
