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| HP: 'Autonomy misled on finances' | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Computer maker Hewlett Packard has asked US and UK authorities to investigate alleged misrepresentations of Autonomy's finances before HP took over the UK software group last year. | |
| HP said it was "extremely disappointed" that Autonomy had appeared to have "inflated" the value of the company prior to the takeover. | HP said it was "extremely disappointed" that Autonomy had appeared to have "inflated" the value of the company prior to the takeover. |
| "These efforts appear to have been a wilful effort to mislead," HP said. | "These efforts appear to have been a wilful effort to mislead," HP said. |
| This led to a $5bn (£3.1bn) charge in its latest quarterly accounts. | |
| The total one-off charge recorded in HP's accounts for the three months to the end of October was $8.8bn, pushing the company to a $6.85bn net loss. | The total one-off charge recorded in HP's accounts for the three months to the end of October was $8.8bn, pushing the company to a $6.85bn net loss. |
| 'Questionable accounting' | |
| "HP is extremely disappointed to find that some former members of Autonomy's management team used accounting improprieties, misrepresentations and disclosure failures to inflate the underlying financial metrics of the company, prior to Autonomy's acquisition by HP," the company said in a statement. | |
| This "severely impacted" its ability to value the company accurately, it added. | |
| HP said it had launched an internal investigation after a "senior member [of Autonomy's management] alleged there had been a series of questionable accounting and business practices" at the group. | |
| The company said as well as referring the matter to the regulatory authorities, it would be taking civil court action against "various parties" to recoup money for its shareholders. | |
| HP shares fell 11% in pre-market trading in New York following the announcement. | |
| HP completed the takeover of Autonomy for $12bn in October last year. | |
| Autonomy founder Mike Lynch is a non-executive director of the BBC. |