By Joey Gardiner, 22 August 2001 17:25
NEWS Troubled broadband company Excite@Home has announced it has sacked auditors Ernst & Young, just two days after they released an amendment to its share prospectus casting doubt on the firm's future. Excite@Home has spent the week firefighting after its already meagre share price was halved by the negative outlook given by the auditors. Now Excite has relieved Ernst & Young of its duties, and appointed rival auditors PricewaterhouseCoopers. Excite revealed the news in an SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) filing Wednesday, which makes it clear the decision was made as far back as 30 May. However, the timing of the announcement will undoubtedly raise eyebrows. On Monday Ernst&Young's amendments to Excite's investor prospectus made it clear the company was on course to run out of cash before the year's end, despite its recent round of money-raising. It also warned the firm could face a delisting from Nasdaq, which would trigger an immediate repayment of debts in cash. The firm has been hit particularly hard by the decline in internet advertising revenues, despite having the benefit of AT&T's broadband cable network. Excite owes nearly $1bn and last quarter reported losses of $346m. Its share price fell to just 40 cents yesterday, marking a new all time low for the company. It has now lost 99.5 per cent of its value in just two years.
In order to post a comment you need to be registered and logged in.
Log in or create your silicon.com account below