Satyam to invite bids for strategic partner, says Karnik

Mumbai, Mar 2 (ANI): Satyam Computers Chairman Kiran Karnik said on Monday that the company board is planning to invite bids for a strategic investor in the next few days.

"We plan to invite bids in the next few days (and) have worked out the modalities for that, which now needs SEBI approval," he said.

The funding from this investor will lend further financial stability to Satyam, added Karnik.

Several companies, including Larsen and Toubro, the Hinduja Group and the B K Modi-led Spice Group have expressed their interest to invest in Satyam.

Satyam's overseas clients are watching the developments very keenly and want to know at the earliest the identity of the strategic investor, Karnik said.

Meanwhile, a regulatory filing at the Bombay Stock Exchange revealed that Fidelity Management and Research LLC (FMR LLC) has hiked its stake in Satyam to 10.17 per cent with the purchase of 18.27 lakh worth of shares.

This has led to strengthening the position of Fidelity as the second largest shareholder in the IT firm after Larsen and Toubro, which holds a 12 per cent stake in the company.

Corporate Affairs Minister Prem Chand Gupta, on March 1 had assured that the government-elected Satyam Board is in the process of finding a strategic partner through an international bidding process that would be completed within a few weeks. (ANI)