Hewlett Packard has dropped its bid to remove manager of Mike Lynch’s estate, admitting Jeremy Sandelson can continue in the role as the late businessman’s family await a decision on whether to challenge a £920 million damages award.
Under the agreement reached between the parties, Sandelson will remain in office if the appeal is granted. Rebuilding firm Interpath Advisory will take over if the bid fails.
HP had sought earlier this year to fire Sandelson, a former partner at the Lynch law firm, and replace him with Interpath, against the family’s wishes.
At a pretrial hearing in April, HP’s attorneys argued that Sandelson had a “fundamental and irremediable” conflict stemming from his close family ties. The company said Interpath will be impartial.
HP told the court that whoever manages the estate will eventually investigate the finances of Lynch’s widow, Angela Bacares, to see if her assets can be used to pay what she owes. £920 million is almost double the value of Lynch’s assets, so other means may be needed to make up the total.
Sandelson has held the position since Lynch’s death in August 2024.
Lynch, the founder of software company Autonomy, was found guilty in 2022 of selling it to HP in 2011 for £8.3 billion. HP said he defrauded the company by raising the price of Autonomy. A High Court judge then ruled that the estate must pay HP £920 million, an amount which includes damages as well as interest and costs. HP previously filed a final claim of nearly $1.8 billion against the estate.
Lynch was found not guilty by a US jury in June 2024, two months before his death. He was on holiday celebrating that decision with his family when the Bayesia sank off the Sicilian coast during a storm. He died along with his twelve-year-old daughter, Hana, and five others.
In May, Italian investigators said Bayesian workers, rather than the storm, were responsible for the sinking. Prosecutors have appointed experts to examine whether a severe weather event, described by witnesses as a “tornado”, was to blame.
The report found it to be “little more than a squall, a sudden increase in wind speed before thunderstorms and rain”, which crews should have been able to control.
According to initial findings, the boat capsized and sank due to the improper actions of the crew, their underestimation of the weather and a number of safety devices that did not work properly. The investigation is looking into alleged cases of negligent shipwreck and multiple counts of manslaughter against the captain and two crew members, and has revealed possible culpability on the boat’s builder.
The UK’s Maritime Accident Investigation Branch is conducting a separate safety investigation into the inventor, which is being carried out in parallel with the Italian criminal investigation. The builder, Italian Sea Group, has separately filed a £400 million claim against Bacares, the boat’s captain and two crew members.
Bayesian sank two days after the death of Stephen Chamberlain, who was also arrested in the Lynch fraud case. An investigation in June found that the 52-year-old man was hit and killed by a car after he started running to face the pressure of the US fraud case they were facing.
Chamberlain’s father, Grenville, said his son took up ultramarathons to cope with the stress. “To keep himself ready for the charges against him, Steve started running and committed himself to become a long-distance athlete,” he said.
“He ran hundreds of kilometres, heading to Snowdonia and the Lake District so he was able to negotiate unfamiliar places. [with]to run 200 kilometers in all weather conditions.”
HPE, one of HP’s successor companies, was approached for comment.
