HP tumbles 14% on $8.8bn Autonomy hit

Hewlett-Packard shares have fallen as much as 14% after it announced an $8.8bn writedown relating to its acquisition of Autonomy.

It said the charge related to alleged "accounting improprieties, disclosure failures and outright misrepresentations at Autonomy", which took place prior to its $10.3bn acquisition of the software firm in August 2011. HP chief executive Meg Whitman said the issues were discovered after an internal investigation, prompted by a whistleblower coming forward. The group's shares fell 14% in early trading on Wall Street to $11.35, standing down 11.5% at $11.76 by mid-afternoon GMT as investors digested the news. HP shares have now fallen 54% year-to-date. The company, which announced the...