Critical Path takes a wrong turn

NEWS The company's investors are also preparing legal action against the provider of email technology in the wake of concerns over financial irregularities. They have hired a New York law firm to file a class action suit early this week. Before the company's shares were suspended their price had dropped from around $10 to $£3.81 in pre-market trading - though the official closing price still stands at $10.06. The company now believes results released last month, showing fourth quarter revenues of $52m and net loss of $11.5m, may have been misstated. Auditors PricewaterhouseCooper and lawyers Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati are to help a board committee investigate the system of accounting for sales. David Thatcher, president of Critical Path and William Rinehart, vice president of worldwide sales, have both been put on administrative leave. Critical Path has cash reserves of $216m and $300m worth of convertible debt. Shares had traded as high as $115 last year.