British entrepreneur Mike Lynch arrived in court on Monday ready to claim he was a “scapegoat” for the doomed $11 billion takeover of Autonomy by Hewlett-Packard.
Lynch, 53, was set to attend the first day of a nine-month High Court defence against HP, dubbed “the tech trial of the century”, over blame for a big write-down of Autonomy after the takeover.
The former Autonomy chief, who sold his business to HP in 2011, is being sued for around $5.1 billion over claims he artificially inflated sales at Autonomy before selling to HP.
Former Autonomy chief Sushovan Hussain is also a defendant.
Lynch, above, is pursuing a counterclaim against HP, saying the reputational damage cost him business deals worth up to $150 million.
Lynch is set to give three to four weeks’ evidence in July.
He will claim HP botched the takeover of Autonomy.
“Mike will not be a scapegoat for their failures,” said a spokesman.
