Former Hewlett-Packard (HP) chief executive Leo Apotheker did not read Autonomys half-year or quarterly results ahead of buying the software firm for £8.4bn in 2011, a court heard today.
Apotheker, who was giving evidence to the High Court, admitted he had not read the firms April 2011 quarterly update or Julys half-year results, but had studied the companys annual report for the year to the end of December 2010.
Read more: Lynch blames HP for 'botched' Autonomy deal in $5bn fraud trial
HP is suing Autonomys founder Mike Lynch and former chief financial officer (CFO) Sushovan Hussain for $5.1bn, alleging that they falsely inflated Autonomys revenue figures ahead of the acquisition.
Robert Miles QC, cross-examining the witness for the defence, said HP was only interested in the software firms potential synergies, not its standalone financial performance, or Apotheker had been negligent.
Miles said: “Either the results werent important to you, or the other alternative is that you were grossly negligent.”
“It is extraordinary that you were looking at buying a company for $11bn and you didnt even bother to read the most recent results,” he added.
During the heated exchange Apotheker said: “There are people inside HP who do a very good job and keep me informed. Im sure if it was something of extreme relevance I would have been told.”
The former chief executive was sacked following the deals announcement, and replaced by Meg Whitman who attempted to refocus the compRead More – Source
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