Mike Lynch feared among missing after yacht sinks off Sicily • The Register
Mike Lynch, often dubbed the UK’s answer to Bill Gates, is reported missing after a luxury yacht sank off the coast of Sicily this morning.
Lynch founded Autonomy, which Hewlett-Packard bought for $11 billion in 2011.
Multiple reports suggest the British entrepreneur is missing after the Bayesian, a 56-meter superyacht, sank near Porticello in storms at around 5am local time.
It is understood Lynch’s wife, Angela Bacares, was rescued while seven others remain missing, according to a statement from officials from the City Council of Bagheria.
Karsten Borner, the captain of a ship that rescued the survivors, told local news outlets that there was a “strong hurricane gust and we had to start the engine to keep the ship in an angled position.”
In a statement, the City Council of Bagheria said: “At the request of the Command of the Carabinieri Station of Bagheria, several volunteer organizations are going to the site to provide assistance to the population.
“The firefighters’ divers dove to reach the hull, which appears to be 49 meters deep about half a mile from the coast.”
The Bayesian had mostly Brit nationals on board, along with a New Zealander, a Sri Lankan citizen, two Ango-French and an Irishman, the authorities said.
Seven of the 22 on board were given first aid, and none of them are in a serious condition. Another seven were reported as being at the port, a child is in hospital and seven more are missing, including Lynch.
In June, Lynch was acquitted of criminal fraud and conspiracy charges arising from the 2011 sale of Autonomy to HP. A federal court jury in San Francisco cleared Lynch of all 15 charges relating to allegation that he, along with Stephen Chamberlain, formerly VP of finance at Autonomy, unlawfully inflated the company’s value prior to its acquisition.
HP paid $11 billion for Autonomy, an enterprise search firm, but within a year wrote down the deal by $8.8 billion. Years of legal wrangling followed. HP shareholders sued in 2012. In 2015, HP sued Lynch and Sushovan Hussain, former Autonomy CFO, in the High Court of England and Wales. Lynch responded by filing a $150 million countersuit for defamation.
In 2022, HPE – which inherited the civil litigation after HP split into HPE and HP Inc – prevailed in that British civil case and is seeking $4 billion in damages. ®
