By Lisa Fleisher
LONDON--Britain's Serious Fraud Office said Monday it has closed
its probe into the sale of U.K. software company Autonomy to
Hewlett-Packard Co.(HPQ).
The agency, in a short statement, said that it found
insufficient evidence related to some allegations for a "realistic
prospect of conviction" in the investigation.
"In respect of some aspects of the allegations, the SFO has
concluded that, on the information available to it, there is
insufficient evidence for a realistic prospect of conviction," the
agency said. The agency said it had ceded jurisdiction in other
aspects of the probe to the U.S., saying that the American probe is
"ongoing."
The decision represents a victory in the U.K. for Autonomy
founder Mike Lynch, who has been engaged in a public battle with
the U.S. tech giant to clear his name after H-P accused him of
fraud related to the deal.
H-P purchased Autonomy in 2011 for $11 billion. Just over a year
later, the company wrote off $8.8 billion related to the
purchase--including $5 billion that it said was related to "serious
accounting improprieties" and misrepresentations by Autonomy
management.
H-P has said that senior Autonomy management misled the U.S.
company into thinking that much of their revenue came from software
sales, rather than money-losing hardware sales. The company has
also accused Autonomy of improperly accounting for deals to inflate
revenue ahead of the sale.
Mr. Lynch and other senior Autonomy staff have denied that any
fraud occurred.
The SFO said Monday it started its probe in 2013, after a
referral from HP.
-Write to Lisa Fleisher at lisa.fleisher@wsj.com
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