Evaluation of financial bids on the same day.
The winner in the race to acquire scandal-hit Satyam Computer Services is likely to be announced on April 13. All suitors in the fray will be allowed to submit their financial bids by April 13, as against the earlier deadline of April 9. The board, in all likelihood, is also expected to announce the winner that very day, according to Kiran Karnik, the chairman of the six-member government-appointed Satyam board.
“The submission of bids will happen on April 13. The bids will be opened that day itself and we might be able to announce the winning bid as well. It is technically possible to manage all this in one day as a lot will depend on how many bids actually come in,” said Karnik.
It was widely believed that the final bidder’s name would be announced by April 30. However, the entire process is understood to have been hastened keeping in mind the general elections that begin April 16.
Deepak Parekh, a member of the board, added that some bidders had asked for additional information which the board will provide. “The bidders will get all the information in the next couple of days. We will put all that on a portal that has been created for this process and is accessible only to the bidders,” added Parekh.
The additional information asked for by the bidders pertains to the company’s financials, client base and employee details etc, said Parekh. The board has already provided information on the revenue, order-book position, current assets and liabilities and fixed assets of Satyam for its valuation.
Meanwhile, the Satyam board met informally in Mumbai yesterday to take stock of the ongoing process and assess the technical competence of suitors for the information technology firm. It is also understood that Cognizant Technology Solutions is back in the race to acquire Satyam.
The meeting was also attended by investment bankers Avendus and Goldman Sachs as well as officials from Larsen & Toubro and Tech Mahindra, both known to be interested in acquiring Satyam. Incidentally, Wilbur L Ross and Cognizant are also understood to have been present at the board meeting.
The board is learnt to have shortlisted around eight bidders. These include the $7 billion engineering behemoth L&T, IT major IBM (through a lawyer firm), and Tech Mahindra. BK Modi-owned Spice Group had demanded, among other things, an ‘open auction’ for Satyam. When pulling out of the race, it had said it would reverse its decision only if the board reconsidered its position on the matter.
| SAVING SATYAM |
| JAN 7 B Ramalinga Raju confesses to fudging the company's accounts |
| JAN 9 Andhra CID starts investigation; Ramalinga Raju and his brother B Rama Raju taken in custody |
| JAN 11 Government appoints three directors on the Satyam board |
| JAN 14 Board appoints Deloitte, KPMG to restate accounts |
| JAN 16 Government appoints three more directors on the Satyam board |
| Feb 5 Board appoints AS Murthy as CEO |
| Mar 6 Satyam receives SEBI approval on bidding process |
| Mar 9 Satyam starts process to select strategic investor |
| MAR 12 Registration of bidders ends |
| JAN 16 Board appoints Deloitte, KPMG to restate accounts |
| Mar 24 Board submits bidding details to SEBI |
| Apr 2 Board revises bidding clause, makes 'open auction' a possibility |
