Sky accepts EDS settlement
June 9, 2010
BskyB will be paid a total of £318m (E386m) as settlement in its long-running compensation case against the Electronic Data Systems, now a subsidiary of Hewlett-Packard. The final settlement is over a contract issued 10 years ago to build a new customer relationship management system.
The broadcaster hired EDS, taken over by Hewlett-Packard in 2008, in 2000. The contract was cancelled in March 2002 after a “woeful” performance, according to Sky. Sky was originally seeking £709m in compensation from the data provider over the original £48m contract.
EDS has agreed to pay £318m in damages, costs and interest, including an interim payment of £270m made in February.
Sky told the high court that the project eventually took six years to complete and if the contractor had been honest about its abilities, BSkyB would have chosen a different supplier.