The shortlist of possible bidders for Satyam is likely to be finalised this week, after the companies made their final "expressions of interest".

There is no official statement from the company, but the board is believed to have met over the weekend for final discussions. Successfully shortlisted firms will then get full access to Satyam's books.

iGate is believed to have pulled out of the race for the fraud-hit firm, leaving construction firm Larsen & Toubro, Spice Group and Tech Mahindra.

Spice Group said it was waiting for more information from Satyam before starting the process of due diligence, the other two bidders refused to comment to Indian papers.

The list is expected to be released later this week. Would-be bidders will also have to provide evidence of their creditworthiness, The Hindustan Times reports.

The paper also said Tech Mahindra has had its credit ratings withdrawn because of concerns about the Satyam bid.

The giant Indian outsourcer has been forced to put itself up for sale after company founder Ramalinga Raju admitted boosting accounts by up to $1bn.

The investigation into Raju continues - the Central Bureau of Investigation has found over 7,000 fake invoices used to bolster turnover. ®