Exclusive: Barings deal imminent

Exclusive: Barings deal imminent

Barings liquidators and former group auditors Coopers & Lybrand are this morning finalising a new settlement deal just days after the High Court trial began, Accountancy Age has learned.

Deloitte & Touche whose potential exposure is significantly less than that of Coopers, now part of PricewaterhouseCoopers, is not thought to be involved in the settlement discussions.

The deal if successful could halt the Pounds 1bn negligence case brought by liquidators KPMG against former auditors Coopers and Deloittes.

This will be the second attempt this year by PwC to strike an out-of-court deal with the liquidators. Legal fees in the case, which began in the High Court in London on 3 October, have already exceeded Pounds 100m.

A settlement in principle was reached in June but later floundered amid rumours of pressure from creditors. The main group of creditors, known as the US vulture funds, among which are Credit Suisse First Boston, bought up Barings bonds when the merchant bank collapsed in 1995.

Since the failed deal the creditors succeeded also for the second time in forcing Ernst & Young, Barings’ liquidators for five years, to step down.

More details to follow

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