惠普对旗下Autonomy减记88亿美元

Hewlett-Packardhas been plunged into an accounting scandal over its 2011 acquisition of Autonomy, the UK-based enterprise software company, after writing down $8.8bn in the value of the $11bn deal.

惠普(HP)因2011年的一桩收购案陷入会计丑闻。在那笔收购案中，惠普以110亿美元收购了英国企业软件公司Autonomy，如今惠普已对这笔交易减记88亿美元。

The struggling US technology conglomerate has alleged that “serious accounting improprieties at the British software company were responsible for more than $5bn of the writedown.

这家身处困境的美国科技企业集团指控称，有超过50亿美元的减记要算在Autonomy“严重违反会计原则头上。

Meg Whitman, chief executive, said information provided by a member of Autonomy’s management team after founder Mike Lynch was fired in May had prompted an internal investigation. This revealed improprieties, “disclosure failures and outright misrepresentations at Autonomy, which occurred before the acquisition.

惠普首席执行官梅格·惠特曼(Meg Whitman)表示，Autonomy管理层之一在创始人迈克·林奇(Mike Lynch) 5月被炒之后提供的信息，促使惠普展开一次内部调查。调查显示，在被惠普收购之前，Autonomy就存在违反会计准则的行为，“披露不到位、以及彻底的不实陈述。

Mr Lynch, who left HP after Autonomy missed budget forecasts by a wide margin, denied the allegations and accused HP of mismanaging his former company since the deal.

林奇否认惠普的指控，并称惠普在收购他的公司后管理不善。早前，林奇在Autonomy表现远远未达预算预期后离开了惠普。

“The figures are just mad. Things would have to have gone pretty badly to justify writing down $8.8bn, he said in an interview with the FT. “It is utterly untrue. We reject this as utterly wrong. Everything we did we gave correctly to the auditors and was correctly noted by the auditors.

林奇在接受英国《金融时报》采访时表示：“这些数字简直是疯了。要减记88亿美元，情况肯定非常糟糕。惠普的指控完全不符合事实。我们否认这一指控。我们所做的一切都照实告诉了审计师，而审计师也照实做了记录。

HP has submitted its findings to the Securities and Exchange Commission’s enforcement division and the Serious Fraud Office in the UK and will take legal action to try to recoup money for shareholders.

惠普已将调查结果呈交美国证监会(SEC)执法部门以及英国严重欺诈办公室（Serious Fraud Office，简称SFO），并将采取法律行动、试图为股东们要回一些钱。

Its shares fell nearly 12 per cent to $11.72 on the news – their lowest in a decade – by midday in New York.

消息传出后，惠普股价在纽约股市午盘时下跌近12%，至每股11.72美元，这是其10年来的最低价。

HP said no red flags were raised when due diligence was carried out by Deloitte and KPMG. “Neither of them saw what we now see after someone came forward to point us in the right direction, said Ms Whitman.

惠普表示，德勤(Deloitte)和毕马威(KPMG)在做尽职调查时没有提出警告。惠特曼说：“两家会计师事务所当时都没有看出我们现在发现的问题，而我们之所以能发现，是因为有人为我们指了路。

She declined to comment whether legal redress would be pursued against the accounting firms. Some of Silicon Valley’s most influential advisers were lined up behind the deal, with Frank Quattrone, the tech sector’s best-known dealmaker, working for Autonomy alongside an extended group of banks that included Goldman Sachs, UBS, Citibank, JPMorgan and Bank of America. Perella Weinberg and Barclays advised HP.

惠特曼拒绝透露是否会对两家会计师事务所采取法律行动。硅谷一些最有影响力的咨询顾问当初为惠普收购Autonomy的交易提供了咨询。科技行业最著名的交易撮合者弗兰克·奎特隆(Frank Quattrone)以及高盛(Goldman Sachs)、瑞银(UBS)、花旗银行(Citibank)、摩根大通(JPMorgan)、美国银行(Bank of America)等多家银行为Autonomy提供咨询。普望(Perella Weinberg)和巴克莱(Barclays)为惠普提供咨询。