Key moments in HP's acquisition of Autonomy

HP paid nearly $10 billion for Autonomy and now says that was too much. HP said it had been deceived by improper accounting. Autonomy's former CEO, Mike Lynch, is denying the charges.

Here's a timeline of some key events in that deal.

— Aug. 18, 2011: HP announces it is buying Autonomy for $42.11 a share, or 64 percent higher than its previous closing price. The $10 billion price tag for the Autonomy shares is 11 times greater than Autonomy's annual revenue of $870 million. The announcement comes on the same day that HP says will discontinue its tablet computer and smartphone products and may sell or spin off its PC division (it later decided to keep the PCs).

— Sept. 22: HP fires Leo Apotheker after just 11 months after a string of disappointing earnings reports. Apotheker had been one of the deal's chief backers.

— Oct. 3: HP completes the Autonomy deal. Lynch joins HP to continue running the business.

— May 23, 2012: HP says Bill Veghte, its chief strategy officer, is replacing Lynch in an effort to boost the division's financial performance.