HP may face action over Autonomy deal

Hewlett-Packard faces the threat of legal action over its acquisition of Autonomy after lawyers for an investor filed a proposed class action suit in a San Francisco court.

The investor claimed that the US technology company knew that statements about its £7.1bn deal to buy the British business in October last year were misleading and led the stock to fall, according to a Reuters report. News of the possible class action comes after HP revealed last week that it was taking a £5.5bn write-down and claimed that it had discovered "serious accounting improprieties" at Autonomy.