What the other papers say this morning November 28, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES Sabic in talks to invest in US shale gas Saudi Basic Industries, the world’s largest petrochemical maker by market capitalisation, is in talks over a possible investment in the US to take advantage of cheap shale gas, said Mohamed al-Mady, its chief executive. Oakland plans Goldman boycott The city of Oakland plans to [...]
Tech boss sparks new row with HP November 27, 2012 THE founder of the British technology firm at the centre of a multi-billion pound accounting scandal yesterday went on the offensive against computing giant Hewlett-Packard (HP), challenging the US company to answer questions over the allegations it made against his firm. Mike Lynch, the founder and former chief executive of Autonomy, said he found it [...]
Pirc: We raised Autonomy flag November 22, 2012 SHAREHOLDER advisory group Pirc “raised a number of red flags” over Hewlett-Packard (HP)’s $11bn (£6.9bn) purchase of Autonomy, it said yesterday. Pirc said it warned that Autonomy auditors Deloitte had done too much non-audit work to be independent. On Tuesday, HP accused former Autonomy bosses of inflating the software company’s accounts, and took an $8.8bn [...]
The HP Autonomy allegations reveal US-UK differences November 22, 2012 ANOTHER US-UK economic conflict is brewing, following HP’s revelation that it has taken an $8.8bn (£5.5bn) write-down. It comes after the claim that it had discovered “serious accounting improprieties” at Autonomy, the British software company. Autonomy completely denies the allegations, of course. But like Standard Chartered’s run-in with the New York regulator over Iranian sanctions, [...]
UK tech boss: My side of the story November 21, 2012 MIKE Lynch, the founder of British software giant Autonomy, yesterday hit out at the chief executive of Hewlett-Packard (HP) over claims the US company had been lied to during its $11bn (£6.9bn) acquisition of Lynch’s firm last year. The former Autonomy boss, who was forced out of HP in May, denied any wrongdoing, rejected claims [...]
HP accuses Autonomy of $9bn lie November 20, 2012 FORMER bosses at British software giant Autonomy were yesterday accused of “serious accounting improprieties, disclosure failures and outright misrepresentation” by the chief executive of Hewlett-Packard (HP), after the US firm wrote off $8.8bn (£5.5bn) over last year’s purchase of Autonomy. Meg Whitman, who took the reins at HP shortly before the $11bn deal was completed [...]
Fresh allegations overshadow welcome cultural shift in City November 20, 2012 LET us hope yesterday won’t eventually be remembered as another disastrous day for the City of London. Hewlett Packard’s inflammatory attack on the accounts of Autonomy, the UK tech giant it now owns, is either a wrong-headed attempt by a struggling US firm to try and justify why it failed to do its due diligence [...]
UK technology darling’s rocky road to HP deal November 20, 2012 WHEN Autonomy was sold to Hewlett-Packard (HP) for $11bn (£6.9bn) in October 2011, the deal was hailed as a defining moment for Cambridge’s technology scene and chief Mike Lynch was made a poster boy for British entrepreneurship. But seven months later, Lynch was out of HP, fired by the US giant’s new boss Meg Whitman. [...]
HP’s staggering accusations drag in City’s largest firms November 20, 2012 THIS paper does its best to avoid editorial hyperbole, but when a firm takes an $8.8bn writedown on an $11bn acquisition barely 12 months after the deal I might just make an exception. It’s completely flabbergasting. Analysts and shareholders alike may have baulked at the steep price that Hewlett-Packard shelled out for UK tech darling [...]
Rathbone raises £25m to power more takeovers November 7, 2012 RATHBONE Brothers, one of the oldest wealth managers in the City, yesterday snapped up boutique equity manager Taylor Young Investment Management (TYIM) and raised £24.7m from investors to give it additional firepower for more acquisitions. FTSE 250 listed Rathbones, which traces its trading roots back to 1742, will pay up to £15m for the Cannon [...]