BOSTON—Shares of Boston Communications Group Inc. tumbled after the company said it will be unable to file its quarterly report pending an internal review of its practices regarding stock-option grants.
The developer of prepaid telecommunications software launched the review in response to broadening federal investigations that have ensnared dozens of U.S. companies. BCGI’s review, which looks into the dates of stock-option grants made from 1998 to 2002, has found that “the actual measurement dates for accounting purposes for certain stock option grants… will likely differ from the recorded grant dates for such awards.”
BCGI, which sells billing software to mobile phone operators, said it will likely be required to record additional non-cash charges for stock-based compensation expenses. The company said it may also be required to pay related additional taxes.
Shares of the company plunged 29 cents, or 11 percent, to $2.36 following the news.
Meanwhile, an attorney for Comverse Technology Inc.’s former chief executive officer Kobi Alexander said his client is considered a fugitive by the U.S. government, according to the Wall Street Journal. Alexander is charged with transferring $57 million from U.S. accounts to accounts in Israel to conceal the money from U.S. authorities. Comverse too is one of the companies embroiled in the stock-options scandal.
Robert Morvillo, Alexander’s attorney, said Alexander was in Israel when the two last spoke about two weeks ago, the Journal reported. Morvillo said he doesn’t know Alexander’s current whereabouts.
