Satyam clients likely to re-evaluate contracts: BS
Around six to eight strategic clients of Hyderabad-headquartered IT services major Satyam Computer Services are understood to be thinking of re-evaluating their contracts as they are “no longer satisfied with the intent and focus of the company”.
Maytas Infra continues free fall: ET
Satyam had planned to buy 31 per cent in Maytas Infra from the promoters at Rs 475 a share and make an open offer for an additional 20 per cent stake at Rs 525 per share. It also planned to buy out Maytas Properties, spending a total $1.6 billion on the deal.
Shares in Maytas Infra halted 20 per cent down at Rs 388.25 each on [Wednesday] and the downside continued on Thursday, with the stock losing 12.94 per cent to Rs 338.
Current trading (Thursday) at 308, no buyers, lower circuit. Tsk tsk.
The dramatic developments since the deal was announced and the 30% slide in the stock on Wednesday, seem to have shaken up some members of the senior management. “We cannot rule out anything, including a hostile takeover bid at this juncture, especially given the valuations now,” said Ram Maynampati, a whole-time director. While hostile bids are rare in India, the possibility of institutional investors paring their holdings has strengthened such perceptions.
With 8% promoter holding and such blatant cash-siphoning, what else would you expect?
IL&FS to negotiate Hyderabad metro funding with banks: ET
Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services Ltd (IL&FS) has begun negotiating with banks and financial institutions to raise money for the Rs 12, 132-crore Hyderabad metro rail project.
The move comes after Satyam Computer Services has dropped its plan to pick up a 51% stake in Maytas Infra, which is executing the rail project with other consortium partners, including IL&FS.
WTF? Why should the Satyam deal impact this funding plan? Satyam was going to pay the owners of Maytas infra, not the company itself, which would see NO CASH BENEFIT of the deal. It’s not like oh, Satyam paid the shareholders 1500 cr., so it will someone find another 12,000 crore for us. How silly.
Satyam’s chequered history: Moneycontrol
Satyam has always had a chequered history. It was one of Ketan Parekh’s, or K10, stocks. A couple of years ago the company was not in the ranking of the top IT companies that one was picking up. But over the past three years, with its consistent performance, it has moved up the ranking of being one the top three picks by most portfolio managers.
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It may come as a surprise that Satyam has won the Golden Peacock Global Award for Excellence in Corporate Governance for 2008. This award was presented on September 23. Investor Relations Global Rankings (IRGR) rated Satyam as the company with Best Corporate Governance Practices for 2006 and 2007. It also won the Golden Peacock Award for Excellence in Corporate Governance from the Institute of Directors in New Delhi in 2002.
Really? In 2002, the Department of Company Affairs accused Satyam of squandering funds and compiling incomplete accounts. The Golden Peacock award is full of crap.
Satyam in 2000: Another “relative” favoured? : Hindu
NOISY scenes prevailed at the 13th annual general meeting of Satyam Computers Ltd (SCL) here on Friday. A section of shareholders insisted that the company management had “deprived” and “defrauded” them by issuing shares to one of the promoter’s fami ly members at a significant discount to the market price.
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The scheme of amalgamation of Satyam Enterprise Solutions Ltd (SESL), Satyam Renaissance Consulting Ltd (SRCL) and Satyam Spark Solutions Ltd (SSSL) with SCL was approved by the shareholders in the court convened meeting held on May 28 last year and subs equently sanctioned by the Andhra Pradesh High Court. Pursuant to the scheme of amalgamation, eight lakh shares of Rs. 10 each of SCL were issued to the shareholders of SESL in the ratio of one share of the company for every one share held in the erstwhi le SESL.
According to the online report on Friday, a few months before the merger SESL issued rights at par. SESL’s equity based increased from Rs. 3.1 crores to Rs. 4.12 crore consequent to the rights. Satyam Computer, however, picked up only four lakh of the 12 lakh shares offered on right basis. The remaining eight lakh shares were renounced in favour of Mr. C. Srinivasa Raju, a director of erstwhile SESL, who is now the Executive Director of SCL. The subsequent allotment of SCL shares (consequent upon merger ) to the SESL shareholders in the ratio of 1:1 enabled Mr. Srinivasa Raju to acquire a significant holding in SCL at Rs. 10 per share as against the then prevailing market price of Rs. 1,700 per share.
There’s a lot more about that case in this online group post though the articles referenced are of 2000, and are no longer available.
Essentially, at that time, C. Srinivasa Raju (Ramalinga Raju’s brother) purportedly benefited from a merger of some companies into Satyam (and everyone was named Satyam at the time, it seems). It was a surreptitious purchase into those companies by Brother Raju, 6 months prior to their acquisition by Satyam, that seemed to anger shareholders.
This is a nightmare beyond imagination. It’s either time to evict the Rajus from their management positions or for the shareholders to press the eject button. It’s not that this kind of muck does not happen – but when it happens a second or third time, it’s a mess beyond imagination.
Even if you tell me the whole of Indian business is corrupt – if we don’t stand up to this kind of blatant misuse everytime it happens, and make a scapegoat suffer, we aren’t going to grow as an economy. Reliance power has suffered and will suffer more, and Satyam should pay the price for keeping its current CEO and board in place.
