British software company Autonomy listed on the NASDAQ Europe in 1998. It was acquired by Hewlett Packard (HP) in October 2011 in a deal worth US$11.7bn (£7.4bn). In November 2012, HP announced that it was writing off US$8.8bn of the US$11.1bn purchase price, of which more than US$5bn was due to accounting improprieties and misrepresentations of Autonomy's financial results. Between 2009 and 1H2011, the company falsely inflated revenues to make it appear it was growing when it really was not. In January 2022, a civil fraud trial found that Autonomy’s founder and chief executive Mike Lynch, and chief financial officer Sushovan Hussain fraudulently inflated the company’s revenue and induced HP to acquire Autonomy for $11bn in 2011. Autonomy is a confirmed fraud.

Last updated February 2022

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