The battle between HP and Autonomy, which it took over disastrously in 2011, spun into a war of insults today as the former finance director of the UK company struck out in court.
Sushovan Hussain, who HP had called a “fraudster” in its court filing, today told a San Francisco court that “HP’s opposition swells with bile, but its sound and fury signify nothing”.
He said in his own court filing: “HP mismanaged the Autonomy merger, then shifted blame for the resulting writedown by characterising accounting disputes as ‘fraud’.
“This corrupt settlement is part of a larger effort by HP to cover up both its mismanagement of the Autonomy integration and its ploy to falsely accuse others.”
HP paid $10.2 billion (£6.1 billion) for Autonomy but wrote off $5 billion a year later blaming “accounting improprieties”. Now HP, led by Meg Whitman, is trying to settle cases brought by its own shareholders for the destruction of value.
Former Autonomy chief executive Mike Lynch said: “Evidence has shown the accusations HP made in November 2012 are wrong. Was this negligence or was it worse? It’s time for Meg Whitman to answer.”
The case will be heard on August 25.
