By Will Sturgeon, 28 March 2002 11:14
NEWS Texan tycoon Sam Wyly, undeterred by a failed boardroom coup at Computer Associates last year, looks set to reopen old wounds with a row that threatens the jobs of at least three senior executives at the company. A letter sent from Wyly's investment firm Ranger Governance said CA's stock will be worthless within five years if it doesn't oust chairman Charles Wang, CEO Sanjay Kumar and CFO Ira Zar. The letter, written by Stephen Perkins, Wyly's business partner, claims the company is practising "Enron-like creative accounting" which will lead it to ruin. CA is currently being investigated by the FBI and the Securities and Exchange Commission over alleged accounting malpractice. However, CA has suggested Wyly's latest manoeuvring is merely his way of "pursuing a personal vendetta" following his failed coup last year. Wyly last year failed in an attempt to depose Wang and Kumar and install himself and eight new board members at the helm of the company. The Financial Times suggests he may now be prepared to launch another challenge to the leadership of the company as early as June. While he only managed to garner a small amount of support last time out, investors attending this year's AGM may be more open to change at the top in a climate of corporate paranoia following the well-publicised collapse of Enron - a fact Ranger Governance was clearly trying to exploit through reference to the failed energy giant in its letter.
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