Original URL: http://www.channelregister.co.uk/2009/03/31/satyam_sale_sooner/
Satyam races to find buyer ahead of Indian election
Firm on the block as pols on the stump
Posted in Enterprise, 31st March 2009 15:06 GMT
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Satyam hopes the sale of its majority stake will be completed before the Indian general election which starts in mid-April.
The company has a shortlist of bidders for its business but they are likely to have to bid blind for the firm - they will be given access to Satyam's books, or rather a "data room", but the full restatement of the accounts will take longer.
The outsourcer has been in limbo since its founder Ramalinga Raju wrote to the board [1] admitting a billion dollar fraud. He is in prison while the investigation continues.
Spice Group and iGate have reportedly pulled out of the race leaving Larsen & Toubro and Tech Mahindra. The five other bidders are private equity companies or strategic investors, the FT reports. W L Ross is one of these according to Indian reports.
Satyam has also written [2] to the Securities and Exchange Commission outlining how the bid process will work.
Bidders will be expected to conduct due diligence through access to a data room rather than official accounts. ®