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Cendant wants Forbes out
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July 23, 1998: 6:44 a.m. ET
Group of senior execs send letter to board requesting chairman's removal
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Forty-four senior executives at Cendant Corp. have called on the company's board of directors to fire Chairman Walter Forbes because of the accounting fraud uncovered at businesses he led.
"We simply cannot go forward under these circumstances," the executives stated in a letter to the board. "The continuation of Walter Forbes' employment as chairman of Cendant, or in any other capacity, represents the probability of substantial irreparable future damage to the company's respective business units."
The letter asks the board, which has been split between directors who support Forbes and those who back Chief Executive Officer Henry Silverman, to call a special meeting and "vote to relieve" Forbes of his duties.
Cendant, a real estate and travel services giant, is a result of the merger of CUC International and HFS Inc. In April, the company said it discovered accounting irregularities in former CUC units, headed by Forbes.
Last week, Cendant discovered those accounting problems were more serious than initially discovered. The company said it had found at least $300 million in phony revenue over three years at CUC and that it will have to restate its financial results for the last three years to correct the discrepancies.
Removing Forbes as chairman would require approval of at least 80 percent of Cendant's 28 directors. CNNfn reported last week that any dismissal without cause would result in a payout of more than $47 million to Forbes.
Cendant (CD) shares were off 9/16 at 16-1/4 in Thursday morning trading. 
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Cendant
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