Hewlett-Packard Co. was sued by an investor over an $8.8 billion write-down that the company said was partly related to falsified finances at Autonomy Corp., the British software maker it bought last year.

The shareholder, in a complaint filed yesterday federal court in San Francisco, alleges that Hewlett-Packard issued false and misleading statements. The company concealed that it had gained control of Autonomy based on financial statements that were unreliable because of accounting manipulation, according to the complaint. Hewlett-Packard Chief Executive Officer Meg Whitman and the company's former CEO, Leo Apotheker, are named as defendants, along with Chief Financial Officer Catherine Lesjak.

"At the time Hewlett-Packard agreed in principle to acquire Autonomy, defendants were looking to unwind the deal in light of the accounting irregularities that plagued Autonomy's financial statements," according to the complaint.