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Shares in troubled advertising group M&C Saatchi slumped Wednesday after co-founder Maurice Saatchi quit the group along with independent directors over accounting issues.
M&C Saatchi was down 5.0 percent at 97 pence approaching midday in London deals, after the shock exits Tuesday that saw three independent directors also step down from their roles.
Maurice started the advertising giant with brother Charles in 1995. In August it revealed accounting irregularities.
Last week, the company issued a profit warning after accountants PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC) found the problems were deeper than thought.
M&C Saatchi was formed after the brothers were ousted from their advertising group Saatchi & Saatchi in 1994.
In a statement Tuesday, M&C Saatchi chairman Jeremy Sinclair said: “We have accepted the decision of these directors to resign.
“We are determined to restore the operational performance and profitability of the business and are already implementing all of the recommendations set out in the PWC report…
“We had started a process to reconstruct our board with new independent directors. This new board will have a mandate to conduct a full review of all aspects of our governance.”
bcp/rfj/wai