Contact: Matt Batters
Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu
+1 212 492 4156
Contact: Deborah Harrington
Deloitte Services LP
Director, U.S. National Public Relations
+1 917 923-0286
New York, March 28, 2003 – Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu announced today that its member firms have ended their discussions to separate Deloitte Consulting through a buy-out of that practice by the consulting group's partners. The global organization cited external factors including the tight credit market and the uncertain state of the economy.
Deloitte Consulting partners will continue to provide a broad set of professional services, principally focused on nonaudit clients. Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu member firms, including Deloitte Consulting, will continue to fully comply with the form and substance of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and the SEC's independence rules in the United States and with all regulatory and legislative requirements in other countries. In every country appropriate action will continue to be taken to comply with local laws and regulations.
Deloitte Consulting had sought to become a privately held partnership and had achieved agreement internally with the Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu member firms on organizational and financial terms of the separation. Deloitte enjoys a strong capital structure, a position that is necessary to be able to continually invest in initiatives to enhance the quality of audits. In an uncertain economic environment, financial terms of the proposed transaction that might have weakened this position were unacceptable to both groups of partners.
“We gave this our very best efforts, but concluded, with advice from our outside legal and financial advisors, that it is just not prudent to complete this transaction in this environment,” said James E. Copeland, Jr., CEO of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu. “We began this process at a time of more robust consulting, capital and credit markets – all of which have deteriorated in the past 14 months, due to economic uncertainty exacerbated by the war in Iraq.” The leaders of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu and Deloitte Consulting concurred in this decision.
Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, one of the world's leading professional services organizations, announced on February 6, 2002 that it intended to separate Deloitte Consulting. In the United States, the firm then, as now, is not required to separate the consulting organization.
Deloitte expressed appreciation to its partners and professionals, clients, advisors, regulators and lenders for their assistance in the effort to achieve a separation.
About Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu
Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu is one of the world's leading professional services organizations. The member firms of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu deliver world-class assurance and advisory, tax, and consulting services. With more than 100,000 people in over 140 countries, the member firms serve over one-half of the world's largest companies, as well as large national enterprises, public institutions, and successful, fast-growing global growth companies. Our internationally experienced professionals strive to deliver seamless, consistent services wherever our clients operate. Our mission is to help our clients and our people excel.
Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu is a Swiss Verein, and each of its national practices is a separate and independent legal entity.
