Tech Billionaire Missing After Yacht Sinks Off Sicily

August 19, 2024 Britain, Business

The Guardian reports:

The tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch is among those missing after a superyacht with 22 people onboard sank off the coast of Sicily during a violent storm, the Guardian understands.

Lynch, 59, known for being the founder of Autonomy Corporation, is understood to be one of four Britons reported missing while his wife, Angela Bacares, has been rescued, a source familiar with the situation said.

Two Americans and a Canadian person are also missing. Fifteen people were rescued from the 56-metre sailing boat Bayesian by coastguard patrol boats and firefighters, including a one-year-old child.

TechCrunch reports:

Lynch’s enterprise technology firm Autonomy was acquired in 2011 by HP for $11 billion — a major milestone for U.K. technology in the country. But it quickly turned sour and HP sued Lynch and other executives at the company, claiming it was misled in the transaction. HP argued that it was duped in the transaction and claimed that it led to a $4 billion loss — money it was demanding from Lynch and his former CFO.

That legal drama went on for more than a decade and involved a host of thorny chapters, including extradition and a lot of very bad publicity for Lynch himself. It also led to a second civil case that took place in 2022 in the U.K., which Lynch lost. Then, the U.S. criminal case finally went to trial earlier this year in San Francisco, and in June, Lynch was acquitted over 15 counts of fraud and conspiracy.

The Italian Coast Guard is continuing to search.



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