Spice Group keen to acquire 51% in Satyam: B.K. Modi
Satyam board member Tarun Das says 6-7 firms interested in buy-out.
Mr Tarun Das
Our Bureau
New Delhi, Jan. 29 As many as six to seven companies - including global and
Indian entities and PE firms - are interested in completely buying out the
scam-stung Satyam Computer Services. This includes Spice Corporation, which
confirmed that it had thrown its hat in the ring for a majority stake.
"The impression that we have, informally and through public announcements, is
that about half a dozen companies are interested.While so far we are aware of
four, we have also heard that there is interest from another two or three ,"
Satyam board member Mr Tarun Das said.
In a late evening development, the Chairman of Spice Group, Mr B.K. Modi,
confirmed that Spice Innovation is interested in acquiring 51 per cent stake in
Satyam. Speaking to Business Line, he said, "We have already put in a formal
bid." Explaining the rationale behind the move, he said "they are also in the
same line of business. our board had decided to look at Satyam even before the
financial fraud came into light."
L&T had also recently hiked its stake in the Hyderabad-based IT services
company to 12 per cent from four per cent, sparking-off speculations that it
may be eyeing a takeover. Other names including that of Tech Mahindra have been
doing the rounds in industry circles.
Meanwhile, in a significant move, the Company Law Board (CLB) has granted legal
immunity to the recently constituted Board of Satyam, from the offences
committed by the past management. In an order passed today, the CLB restrained
the Provident Fund authorities from initiating any legal action against the
present directors of Satyam, for defaults committed by the suspended management
of the company.
The CLB Chairman, Mr S Balasubramanian, in an order, said that, "to ensure that
the present Board of Directors discharges its function without any apprehension
of being subjected to civil, criminal and punitive action, I direct that none
of the State or Central Government agencies shall, in exercise of their
regulatory, enforcement or like such powers, initiate any action, civil,
criminal, punitive, coercive against the present directors in discharge of
their collective or individual responsibilities, without the prior leave of
this Board."
The order further said that the direction is applicable to "all the
functionaries who have been or are likely to be appointed by the present
board."
This order will put to rest all apprehensions of the existing Board members as
well as those who are being tipped to become CEO and CFO.
Further, the current Board of Satyam was also authorised by CLB to raise
finances in the form of loans or otherwise and also to mortgage, charge and
encumber any of the movable and immovable assets of the company, including
providing them as securities.
SEBI plea hearing today
Our Hyderabad Bureau reports: SEBI's writ petition questioning the denial of
permission by a lower court to interrogate the former Satyam Chairman, Mr B.
Ramalinga Raju, and his brother and former CEO, Mr B. Rama Raju, will come up
for hearing in the Andhra Pradesh High Court tomorrow (on Friday).
"The honourable Justice B. Seshasayana Reddy after hearing the arguments (on
Thursday) said that let the office number the petition subject to
maintainability, let us see what the other side has to say about the
maintainability, and posted the matter for urgent hearing on Friday," Mr Goolam
E Vahanvati, Solicitor-General, appearing for SEBI told newspersons here.
PW PARTNERS' BAIL PLEA
The VI Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, Mr D. Ramakrishna, after
hearing the arguments reserved the orders on the bail petitions of sacked Price
Waterhouse partners, Mr S. Goapalakrishnan and Mr Talluri Srinivas, for
February 2.
http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2009/01/30/stories/2009013052000100.htm
ekamber
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