John
04-16-2009, 09:02 AM
The future of Tiscali has been thrown into doubt after the companys auditors refused to sign off its 2008 accounts.
The company, which has 1.8 million UK customers, has debts of over £450 million and it is this debt load that worries the auditors Ernst and Young, which refused to sign off the accounts because of 'fundamental uncertainties' in the companys business plan.
In a statement Tiscali said: "The company, in disagreement with the conclusion drawn by the audit report, believes that it has co-operated at best and that it has provided all the information necessary to enable the independent auditors to issue an audit opinion on its 2008 financial statements.
"In particular, with regard to the process of debt negotiation, the company underlines that it has already obtained a period of standstill from the lending banks until June 2009."
Tiscali has been trying to sell its UK arm for over a year now, but the leading contender BSkyB pulled out of negotiations after failing to agree a price for the company.
The company will continue trading for the moment and is reportedly in discussions with banks to reduce its debt burden.
The company, which has 1.8 million UK customers, has debts of over £450 million and it is this debt load that worries the auditors Ernst and Young, which refused to sign off the accounts because of 'fundamental uncertainties' in the companys business plan.
In a statement Tiscali said: "The company, in disagreement with the conclusion drawn by the audit report, believes that it has co-operated at best and that it has provided all the information necessary to enable the independent auditors to issue an audit opinion on its 2008 financial statements.
"In particular, with regard to the process of debt negotiation, the company underlines that it has already obtained a period of standstill from the lending banks until June 2009."
Tiscali has been trying to sell its UK arm for over a year now, but the leading contender BSkyB pulled out of negotiations after failing to agree a price for the company.
The company will continue trading for the moment and is reportedly in discussions with banks to reduce its debt burden.