A recent report by the Financial Times that says concerns over market volatility, depressed consultancy and electoral uncertainty may stall the initial public offering of part of KPMG's consulting business until next year has apparently hit a nerve with the professional services firm. The article states that the firm originally hoped to settle the deal by year's end.

"I don't know how the Financial Times decided to use the word 'delay' because we've never, ever discussed timing or projected the timing for the IPO," said George Ledwith, KPMG's national director of corporate communications. Ledwith added that under rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission the firm is not permitted to discuss the timing of the IPO.

The Financial Times stated that "people close to the firm" said it had completed the steps required before flotation but wanted to hold off until equity prices settled.

According to a recent filing with the SEC, KPMG Consulting increased its initial public offering from some 324 million shares to some 367 million shares. KPMG Consulting said it is offering 59.2 million shares of common stock while the parent company, KPMG LLP, is offering 307.9 million shares.

Immediately following the offering, KPMG LLP, the non-U.S. KPMG International member firms and their respective partners, will collectively own no more than 19.9 percent of the company's common stock.

The company said it expects to use about $202.1 million of the proceeds from the offering to repurchase from Cisco Systems Inc. a portion of the Series A Preferred Stock that will not be converted into shares of their common stock.

KPMG Consulting has applied to list the common stock on the Nasdaq Stock Market under the symbol KCIN. Morgan Stanley Dean Witter is managing the offering.

-- By Antoinette Alexander

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