Satyam Computer Services has signed a memorandum of understanding with Maharashtra Airport Development Company to acquire 100 acres in the Nagpur special economic zone.
Satyam Computer Services (rebranded as Mahindra Satyam) has recovered 32 clients of Satyam since May. The company has close to 420 clients at present -- down from the approximately 500 clients it had before takeover.
Also, on Wednesday Mahindra Satyam said its board has approved settlement of lawsuits brought by its former client Upaid Systems by paying $70 million.
Besides, 43 other customers partially or completely withdrew their businesses from Satyam, although they did not terminate their service agreements, Satyam said. The disclosure about customer wins and losses post Raju's resignation and fraud admittance letter have been made for the period till March 26, 2009.
For the first time in almost six months after it was acquired by Tech Mahindra, Satyam Computer Services (now rebranded as Mahindra Satyam) will hire 130 people from outside the company.
Four nominee directors of Tech Mahindra, including its chief executive officer Vineet Nayyar, on Wednesday joined the board of the embattled IT firm Satyam Computer.
UN spokesperson Michele Montas has said she no new information about reassessment of UN contracts with Satyam, now under investigation by Indian authorities for fraud. The UN, however, did not assign any reason for the action against the Indian IT company, which is smarting from the shock of a Rs 7,800 crore (Rs 78 billion) accounting fraud engineered by its founder Ramalinga Raju.
All the 10 accused in the case, including prime accused Satyam Computers founder and former chairman B Ramalinga Raju and his brother and Satyam's former MD B Rama Raju, appeared in the court, as per its direction.
Confident, blow; positive, impossible; stability, challenges; critical, beginning anew are some of the words A S Murty uttered in his maiden message as Satyam's chief executive officer to instill confidence in the employees.
The meeting of the six-member Satyam Board, which started in Hyderabad on Wednesday, has been extended till Thrusday.
Scam-hit Satyam seems to be losing its status as a noteworthy rival for the top Indian IT firms, as Wipro has become the second major player in this space after Infosys to drop its name from the list of competitors.
Two contradictory remarks by ministers caused wild fluctuations in Satyam's stock. Why did they make them?
World football body FIFA, one of the most coveted clients of the beleaguered Satyam Computer, on Thursday said it was closely monitoring the developments.
The mood appears to have changed dramatically. Despite the new chief executive officer of Mahindra Satyam assuring them the company and its employees (known as associates) have a great future, most associates this paper spoke to are confused and worried about the goings-on at the workplace.
Director general of police S S P Yadav will personally supervise the investigation, highly-placed police sources told PTI.
Bidding guidelines for inviting a strategic investor in Satyam Computer Services Ltd are expected to be ready in 10-15 days, Corporate Affairs Minister Prem Chand Gupta has said. "It would be a transparent process," said Gupta. The Satyam board was in touch with the financial consultants and would take a decision soon, he added.
These include B K Modi's Spice, Larsen & Toubro and Tech Mahindra. iGate, which had participated in the first round of bidding, backed out from completing the second round. Global majors like IBM are understood to have entered the second round, but this could not be independently confirmed. Other names floating include that of Hewlett-Packard and KKR Private Equity Investors.
Independent directors of Satyam Computers, who agreed to the company's proposal of buying out two promoter-related companies, failed to be independent in 'spirit', industry captains said.
While the deal at the bid price of Rs 58 per share may bring some cheer to Satyam's shareholders as it brings to end a host of uncertainties, Tech Mahindra has a tough task on its hands, given that Satyam's revenues and client-base is diminishing slowly.
The jury is still out on whether Tech Mahindra should retain the Satyam name. Srinivasan Swamy, CMD, R K Swamy BBDO, says. "Brand Satyam took a beating for only one reason -- accounting irregularities by its erstwhile chairman. The employees were not even aware of the fraud. The company's core values and foundation have not been impacted." The task for the new management, he believes, is to retain its clients and people and the brand image would get resurrected.
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) team met the six-member government appointed board of the Satyam Computer Services here on Thursday.
The board meeting, which was expected to be held on February 5, was brought forward by a day. "Announcements relating to critical leadership appointments are expected to be made at the board meeting," the company's internal newsletter stated.
SRSR Holding is owned by Ramalinga Raju's sibling, Suryanarayana, whose house was also searched by the police with regard to the Rs 7,800 crore (78 billion) accounting fraud in Satyam.
State Farm Insurance, a Fortune 500 US company, which last week terminated its existing contracts with the scam-tainted Satyam Computer, has now started transferring its projects to other IT vendors, including those from India.
The directors who have come under the Company Law Board order are former chairman and founder of Satyam B Ramalinga Raju, erstwhile whole-time directors B Rama Raju and Rammohan Rao Mynampati, former CFO Srinivas Vadlamani and CS G J Jayaraman. They also have to submit details of their bank accounts and movable and immovable properties in India and abroad by February 20 this year.
GE and Malaysia Airlines have said they are continuing their existing contracts with Satyam. In the newly constituted board's first meeting, Deepak Parekh had said two of Satyam's global clients have vouched for the firm but declined to give further details. Meanwhile, over half a dozen of Satyam Computer's rivals have started exploring ways to take over the business from its various clients, a global technology consultancy firm has said.
Upaid chairman and CEO Simon Simon Joyce told Business Standard, "Yes, Satyam has withdrawn the disparagement case and they have done so unilaterally. But I do not think that this will impact the primary case of fraud and forgery.
The country's largest software exporter, Tata Consultancy Service, on Monday said some Satyam Computer clients have turned to the Tata company on their own, adding it would not approach the clients of the scam-tainted firm.
The two firms, however, cannot be termed as auditors of Satyam as the appointment of an auditor can be done only after securing the company's shareholders' consent. Sleuths investigating the Satyam fiasco on Tuesday conducted raids at the Hyderabad office of PriceWaterhouseCoopers, Satyam's auditing firm, and are understood to have recovered several crucial documents.
The announcement was made by Corporate Affairs Minister P C Gupta, whose ministry had earlier moved the Company Law Board to disband the erstwhile Satyam board after disclosure of fraud by company founder Ramalinga Raju
The Fox News in an online report quoted a spokesman for the UN Secretariat as saying that "one direct contract it (UN Secretariat) had with Satyam is to be terminated."
Ramalinga Raju's letter to Satyam employees.
IT firm Satyam Computer on Tuesday said its new owner Tech Mahindra has completed the process for acquiring 31 per cent stake in the company.
With only two days left for the final bidding process to start (9 am on April 13), the government-appointed board of Satyam Computer Services is giving final touches to the modalities. And providing the extra information the potential bidders wanted.
Get worried when a company proposes something unusual and exit if you are not sure.
Says Satyam is not a commodity. B K Modi of Spice had earlier pushed for e-auction, for its transparency.
India has urged the US Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) not to impose fine on Satyam, now Mahindra Satyam, in view of irregularities as the company was also listed there.
The board approved the allotment of the shares on March 13, under the stock option plans of the company, Satyam said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange. Pursuant to the allotment, the paid-up share capital of the company stood at Rs 1,34,77,89,584 up from Rs 1,34,77,68,562, the filing added.
Steady performance of Mahindra Satyam and increasing traction in non-BT revenues are key positives for Tech Mahindra.
Satyam founder B Ramalinga Raju's confession letter on January 7 also refers to a net amount of Rs 1,230 crore (Rs 12.3 billion) arranged for Satyam by the 37 companies.