March 6 (Bloomberg) -- Satyam Computer Services Ltd., the software services provider at the center of India’s biggest corporate fraud inquiry, received regulatory approval to sell as much as 51 percent of itself through a global bidding process.
The selected investor would acquire the stake by first buying a 31 percent stake at a preferential sale of new shares and subsequently making an open offer for a minimum 20 percent, the Hyderabad-based provider said in an e-mailed statement today.
“The company expects to invite expressions of interest from qualified investors shortly in a global competitive bidding process,” Satyam said. “Qualified investors are expected to have total net assets in excess of $150 million.”
Satyam’s state-appointed board is pushing ahead with the stake sale plan before the fraud inquiry is complete or the company restates accounts in a bid to restore investor confidence and stem client defections. The software provider’s founder Ramalinga Raju said in January he inflated assets by $1 billion, triggering an 80 percent slump in the stock.
A buyer may gain about 50,000 employees while facing the absence of financial information and potential liabilities from lawsuits in the U.S.
International Business Machines Corp. is the front-runner to acquire Satyam and has begun talks with the Indian company’s board, the Business Standard reported yesterday, citing unidentified people familiar with the situation.
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