According to a report in the Sunday Times, Interpublic will seek a reprieve from investors as the industry waits to see if the world's third-largest advertising holding company will further delay its 2004 results.
The results were due in March when Interpublic said it was unable to file its annual results for 2004 on time, and that it had uncovered $145m in overstated revenues, relating to acquisitions made between 1996 and 2001.
Interpublic has suffered ongoing financial problems, which have included revenue shortfalls, erroneous accounting and being forced to restate earnings from as far back as 1996.
If Interpublic does not file by Thursday this week, it will face financial penalties and will have to pay millions of dollars to its bondholders.
It is thought Interpublic will look to extend its deadline to as late as September 30, but it will also have to win the support of banks as well as bondholders. However, if it fails to file by that date it risks being delisted from the New York Stock Exchange.
The extension to its Securities & Exchange Commission deadline is likely to worry investors who have already seen the holding company, which owns McCann Erickson. Lowe & Partners and Universal McCann, lose its $3.2bn (拢1.7bn) General Motors media account last month to Publicis Groupe's Starcom MediaVest.
In March when Interpublic announced it would not be filing on time the group's chairman and CEO Michael Roth said: "The filing delay is not related to the high quality of our professional offerings, as evidenced by recent significant account wins. Nor is it a reflection of our company's true potential. We will, of course, provide further information on our situation as warranted."
If you have an opinion on this or any other issue raised on Brand Republic, join the debate in the