Update: Authorities have but to entry the within of the sunken yacht, and Mike Lynch remains to be categorised as lacking. Other particulars have emerged within the interim.
The accident seems to have been brought on by a significant storm and a ensuing tornado-like water column that ensnared and broken the yacht. Among the opposite six individuals nonetheless lacking are Lynch’s 18 year-old daughter and Morgan Stanley International chairman Jonathan Bloomer. The voyage was to have a good time Lynch being acquitted of felony expenses within the U.S. and a number of other members of his authorized staff have been additionally on board. (The ship was registered to Lynch’s spouse, one of many survivors.) By a horrible coincidence, the opposite individual acquitted in Lynch’s trial — Autonomy’s finance head Stephen Chamberlain — had died simply the week earlier than when he was hit by a automobile whereas out jogging. Original article continues under.
Mike Lynch, the investor and high-profile founding father of U.Ok. tech agency Autonomy, has been declared lacking at sea after the yacht he was on, the Bayesian, capsized in a storm off the coast of Sicily early Monday morning.
TechCrunch confirmed with a supply near the rescue operation that Lynch is one among six individuals lacking from the boat. Lynch’s spouse, Angela Bacares, is without doubt one of the 15 who’ve been rescued. One physique has been discovered.
The information is a dramatic, tragic growth for one of many extra colourful, and typically controversial, figures in expertise out of the U.Ok.
Lynch’s enterprise expertise agency Autonomy was acquired in 2011 by HP for $11 billion — a significant milestone for U.Ok. expertise. But it shortly turned bitter, and HP sued Lynch and different executives on the firm, arguing it was misled within the transaction.
HP claimed that the deal led to a $four billion loss — cash it then demanded from Lynch and his former CFO. Lynch (pictured above, left) lengthy asserted that he acted in good religion and that he was being made right into a scapegoat over a merger gone dangerous.
That authorized drama went on for greater than a decade and concerned a number of different thorny chapters, together with Lynch’s extradition to the U.S. and quite a lot of very dangerous publicity for Lynch himself. It additionally led to a second civil case that happened in 2022 within the U.Ok., which Lynch misplaced.
The U.S. felony case, the place Lynch was charged with 15 counts of fraud and conspiracy, went to trial earlier this yr in San Francisco. Finally, in June, Lynch was acquitted.
“I am elated with today’s verdict and grateful to the jury for their attention to the facts over the last ten weeks. My deepest thanks go to my legal team for their tireless work on my behalf,” Lynch stated on the time. “I am looking forward to returning to the UK and getting back to what I love most: my family and innovating in my field.”
In the interim years, Lynch constructed up a profile within the U.Ok. as an investor, most prominently because the founding father of Invoke Capital. The VC agency was the most important investor in cybersecurity agency Darktrace, a connection that was not with out its personal controversy. It additionally invested in Sophia Genetics, Featurespace and Luminance, amongst others. And it appeared that that is the route that he was set to proceed.
Our ideas exit to his household, pals and colleagues. We’ll replace this publish as we study extra.
