Three suitors for Satyam

With the deadline for registering ending on Thursday, L&T, Tech Mahindra and Spice Corp have announced their intention to join the race to take a majority stake in Satyam Computer Services.

Though names such as IBM, HP, Oracle and Cognizant were doing the rounds, it was not clear whether they have registered with the company to express their willingness to take part in the bid process.

Markets were, however, not that enthused as the Satyam scrip fell by 3.18 per cent on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) to close at Rs 47.20 on Thursday as against the previous close of Rs 48.75.

The market cap of the embattled IT major stood at Rs 3,162 crore.

Sources in the company told Business Line that investment bankers Goldman Sachs and Avendus would vet the formal requests.

The Satyam Board Chairman, Mr Kiran Karnik, said that the board would meet in Hyderabad on Friday.

He, however, remained tight-lipped on the agenda.

“I don’t know if we can even legally give out that information pertaining to the identity of the bidders or the number of bidders,” he said.

Mr Prasenjit Roy, Director (Marketing), Tech Mahindra Ltd, announced that the company had formally conveyed its interest in the process.

“We have registered our interest, in line with the process set out by the Satyam Board,” he said. “Once we receive the Request for Proposal and other information, we will evaluate and conclude on the next steps,” Mr Roy said.

An L&T spokesperson too confirmed that the company had sent the formal proposal.

On expected lines, SpiceCorp has registered its interest to bid for Satyam. “We are going solo,” its Chairman, Dr B.K. Modi, said.

But, the Hinduja group has backed out. “After careful consideration we have decided not to participate,” Mr Prabal Banerji, Chief Financial Officer, Hinduja Group, said.
Peers not in race

Major domestic IT companies have reiterated that they are not in the race.

When contacted, Mr V. Balakrishnan, Chief Financial Officer of Infosys, said the company did not register.

Recalling Mr Premji’s stand, a Wipro spokesperson made it clear that the company had no interest in taking over either Satyam or Maytas.

HCL Technologies also said it was not in the fray.

While IBM and CSC have declined to comment on “speculation”, HP said, “We do not comment on rumours and that all merger and acquisition activities are decided globally.”

Accenture spokespersons were not available for comment.