Indian IT firms have started mining smaller clients with more fervour given that the revenue accruring from their top clients has been declining due to the US slowdown and the sub-prime crisis. Consider this. Revenue accruing from the top clients of the five leading IT firms by revenue - Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys Technologies, Wipro Technologies, Satyam Computer Services and HCL Technologies - dropped by anywhere between 0.2 per cent and 4 per cent
The board -- which includes, Kiran Karnik, T N Manoharan, former chief, ICAI, and HDFC chief Deepak Parekh, appeared relieved after a marathon run of selecting a bidder for the scam-tainted firm.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday said the country's regulatory structure is strong enough to prevent a Satyam-like fraud in future.
Ironically, the laws of the land seem to have given him breathing time from the interrogation of various investigation agencies, which plunged into action soon after the Rs 7,800 crore (Rs 78 billion) scam was exposed.
IBM's exit leaves the field open for engineering giant Larsen & Toubro, which owns 12 per cent in Satyam, Tech Mahindra, Cognizant Technology and private equity firm Wilbur L Ross. Satyam currently faces 13 class action suits by holders of the company's ADRs in the US. An investment banker close to the deal said IBM was a big name and could, therefore, be vulnerable to more lawsuits.
The scrip ended today's trade at Rs 90.55, down by 10.92 per cent from its previous close on the BSE.
Better growth is coming from outside the US - such as Canada, Australia, West Asia, China and APAC (Asia Pacific). Moreover, these are also becoming good delivery centres given the unique nature of these geographies, says Ram Mynampati.
A team from India's $7 billion engineering behemoth, Larsen & Toubro, which holds 12 per cent stake in Satyam Computer Services started inspecting the books of the troubled company.
Engineering giant Larsen and Toubro (L&T) is selling a third of its 6.9 per cent stake in Mahindra Satyam, formerly Satyam Computer Services. The transaction is expected to fetch Rs 304 crore (Rs 3.04 billion) for the company, said banking sources.
The newly appointed (by the government) board members, O P Vaish and Ved Jain, said the company and its lenders were expected to reach an agreement in this regard by March 25. The board met in Hyderabad under the chairmanship of Vaish and sought information on the state of the company and the various projects it was implementing and negotiating. Vice-Chairman B Teja Raju and Additional Director B Narasimha Rao were present.
The government-appointed board of Satyam Computer Services will meet on Friday to scrutinise the bids for a 51 per cent stake in the company and decide a schedule for completing the selection process.
Satyam Computer Services has signed a $71 million seven-year contract with Qantas for development and maintenance of over 150 applications across a wide portfolio of technologies.
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."
The Hinduja Group on Monday said it is looking at bidding for Satyam Computer Services but yet to take a decision.
Within hours of Company Law Board orders, the government on Thursday appointed its nominees on the boards of Maytas Infra and Maytas Properties, the companies promoted by the kin of disgraced founder of the Satyam Computer Services B Ramalinga Raju.
Satyam Computer Services will scrap the variable pay policy and introduce a revenue-linked allowance from next month for a section of associates in a bid to minimise cost.
The bid-pack for potential investors is ready and the government-appointed board has already sent it to the Company Law Board and Securities Exchange Board of India, according to sources close to the development.
The company has a total of 34,000 employees globally.
PriceWaterhouse (PW) has said that it resigned as statutory auditor of Satyam Computer Services with effect from February 12, 2009, while stating that it would co-operate with the ongoing investigations into the Rs 7,800-crore (Rs 78 billion) fraud at the IT major.
Scam-tainted Satyam Computer Services has lost its value with customers moving out of the company, according to Phaneesh Murthy, chief executive of the US-based iGate Corporation.
CBI on Wednesday announced that it will set up a multi-dimensional team to probe the 'unique' fraud, which involves Satyam founder B Ramalinga Raju and his family members. While the spokesman remained evasive to questions on when the cases would be registered, CBI sources said records and other materials associated with the probe was being taken over by the agency.
Earlier, the Sebi had interrogated and recorded the statement of Raju and his brother and Rama Raju for three days from February 4 in Chanchalguda Jail. In a petition filed in the court of 6th Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, the I-T department sought three days time to examine and record the statement of Raju.
Hinduja Global Solutions, the BPO arm of the Hinduja group -- one of the interested parties in acquiring the scam-tainted Satyam Computer Services -- said it has chalked out a 100-day plan, just in case it is successful in its attempt. Meanwhile, it has written to the merchant bankers involved in the transaction. "We are very interested in Satyam and accordingly, we have written to the merchant bankers but are yet to receive any reply," said Anand Vohra, CFO.
The company aims to book a profit of over Rs 250 crore from the open market sale, said two sources familiar with the development.
Says Satyam is not a commodity. B K Modi of Spice had earlier pushed for e-auction, for its transparency.
Amid a crowd of suitors lining up for acquiring Satyam Computer Services, the board of the beleaguered IT firm started its meeting on Wednesday.
The board has the power to appoint a professional even without a formal application if found apt for the job, the source told PTI.
As per the contract, Satyam would develop a customised event management system and build extranet and intranet over the next 12 months.
Sources said, though the board did not meet officially on Monday, the members were engaged with some of the prospective lenders to overcome the financial problems.
Speaking to private TV news channel CNBC TV18, Naik said, "Some corporate action will take place in the near future but we cannot comment on taking over Satyam at this stage."
The Hyderabad-based company may generate about $12 million revenues during the current financial year from its South African operations against $4 million in 2006.
The company expects the division to add double-digit growth to the company's top line during the current financial year, he said.
In an interview, author and columnist Steve Hamm shared his thoughts on the Satyam episode, World Bank ban on Wipro et al.
"We were not given to understand by any party, explicitly or implicitly, during the valuation exercise about Satyam's plans to acquire Maytas Properties," an Ernst & Young spokesperson informed Business Standard by e-mail.
Maytas Infra was entrusted with the task of constructing a township colony at Rs 233 crore (Rs 2.33 billion) in Jharsuguda following a contract in March 2008, a Vedanta official told PTI.
If extra tax has been paid on inflated income, only a 'bona fide mistake' will get refund.
The board, whose size was doubled with the induction of three members on Thursday, is likely to elect a new chairman to steer the company out of the financial mess that its founder Ramalinga Raju led it into.
Talks of a possible merger or takeover will not have credence for a while
T R Prasad, former cabinet secretary and ex-independent director of scandal-hit Satyam Computer Services on Wednesday said, he is in Delhi at present and is ready for interrogation by any investigative agency.
Scandal-hit Satyam Computer Services is likely to abandon its proposed IT park project in Gandhinagar in view of the multi-crore fraud in the Hyderabad-based software firm, Gujarat government officials said on Friday.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances