Satyam saga - Biggest Tech News Of 2008

[VelMurugan]

Satyam saga

The year 2008 would have ended for India's fourth largest IT company, Satyam, just like it will for most other IT cos with worries of ongoing economic gloom. However, there's much more on Satyam plate to tackle now.

The company's troubles began on December 16 when Satyam announced acquisition of Maytas Infrastructure for $1.6 billion (Rs 7658-crore). Institutional investors strongly opposed the move. Satyam's ADR lost 50 per cent on NYSE. Faced with shareholders' revolt and heavy criticism over corporate governance issues, in the early hours of December 17 the company withdrew the proposal. But the scrip lost over 30 per cent in India.

What came as the next severe blow to the Hyderabad-based IT provider facing flak from investors on its decision to acquire Maytas' was World Bank banning it for 8 years over bribery and corruption charges. Ramalinga's family loses half a billion dollars in a week as stock crashes.

Then the worst followed. Shocked by Satyam's admission to BSE that the company's promoters have pledged their entire shareholding to institutional investors, independent directors Vinod Dham (father of Pentium chips) and Harvard Business School professor Krishna Palepu, immediately resigned from the board. Also, Indian School of Business dean M Rammohan Rao followed suit. Another independent director, academic Managalam Srinivasan had quit earlier.

This leaves Satyam with only five directors on the board, from nine directors earlier.

Source : IndiaTimes