ePlus Inc. / PLUS

About ePlus Inc.

13595 Dulles Technology Dr., Herndon, Va. 20171
www.eplus.com | 703-984-8400 | Founded: 1991

Industry: Information Technology | Category: Top 100 Companies

In June 2006, the firm's audit committee began an investigation into the backdating of stock options given to four senior company officers in 2004, a move triggered by a letter from shareholders. The probe has since expanded to cover all grants dating to the firm's initial public offering in 1996.
Based on the review as of last August, the firm has recorded an estimated $3 million in stock-based compensation expense covering the period from 1997 to 2006 to account for the difference in stock price between the real and recorded dates of the grants. The estimate is subject to change.
The investigation has delayed the firm's filing of its quarterly and annual reports. As a result, Nasdaq Global Market has repeatedly warned the company that it may be delisted for failure to file. The company has said it is "diligently working" to clear up the accounting problems.
In September, a Virginia jury ordered ePlus to pay $3 million plus interest to Banc of America Leasing & Capital. Banc of America Leasing & Capital had sued ePlus in 2005 after CybercoHoldings, a Michigan tech firm, failed to make good on an equipment leasing contract that ePlus financed with Banc of America and another bank. Cyberco defrauded ePlus and other leasing companies and was forced into bankruptcy. ePlus is appealing the judgment.
On a brighter note, in December, ePlus and SAP, a large German software firm, settled a patent-infringement lawsuit. SAP agreed to pay ePlus $17.5 million for the license to ePlus's existing patents and those developed by the company in the next five years. In November, the board added two independent directors to the board, expanding the membership to eight. Six are independent and two are from company management.

Chairman and CEO: Phillip G. Norton

2007 Financial Data

Total employees: None | Local employees: 269