Mike Lynch considered selling his superyacht months before it sank off the coast of Sicily but changed his mind after his court acquittal, according to a report.
The tech tycoon, 59, was among six people who died when his superyacht, named the Bayesian, sank at around 5am on Monday near Porticello during a tornado.
Mr Lynch had put the £30 million yacht up for sale in March this year but withdrew it from the market in July, the Telegraph reported.
He had planned to spend the summer on board the boat and then review the decision to sell in the autumn, industry sources told the newspaper.
Mr Lynch, who founded software giant Autonomy in 1996, was cleared in June of carrying out a massive fraud relating to its £8.64 billion sale to US company Hewlett Packard. The boat trip was a celebration of his acquittal.
Following the ruling, Mr Lynch said he was “elated” and looking forward to returning to his family and his estate in Suffolk.
Mr Lynch, his daughter Hannah, Morgan Stanley International bank chairman Jonathan Bloomer, his wife Judy Bloomer, Clifford Chance lawyer Chris Morvillo, and his wife Neda Morvillo were lost when the Bayesian sank.
His wife, Angela Bacares, 57, survived the disaster.
Fifteen people including a one-year-old baby escaped the tragedy on a lifeboat.
The body of Canadian-Antiguan national Recaldo Thomas, who was working as a chef on the yacht, was recovered at the scene of the sinking on Monday.
Inspectors from the Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) are looking into what happened because the Bayesian was flying a British flag.
Prosecutors in the nearby town of Termini Imerse have also opened an investigation into the tragedy.
Giovanni Costantino, founder and chief executive of The Italian Sea Group, has described the Bayesian as “one of the safest boats in the world” and denied suggestions that the boat’s construction was at fault.
Meanwhile on Thursday, the Bloomer family described the couple as “incredible people and an inspiration to many”.
They said: “We are grieving for our loved ones and all of those affected by the tragedy.
“Our parents were incredible people and an inspiration to many, but first and foremost they were focused on and loved their family and spending time with their new grandchildren.
“Together for five decades, our only comfort is that they are still together now.
“This is an unimaginable grief to shoulder.”
