HP says Autonomy inflated profits by 81% before deal

Hewlett Packard saidAutonomy, the software firm it bought in 2011, overstated profits at one of its main British units by 81% in the year before it was sold in Britain’s biggest technology deal.

Little over a year after the $11.7bn (€8.65bn) acquisition, the Silicon Valley firm wrote down the value of Autonomy by $8.8bn, accusing the management of accounting irregularities.

Autonomy was founded and led by Irish-born, British entrepreneur Mike Lynch, who has repeatedly denied the allegations.