Larsen & Toubro (L&T) on Wednesday said the company was against an e-auction process to determine a suitable buyer for Satyam Computer Services.
Satyam is not a commodity so that buyers can opt for an e-auction platform to buy it. It is a public listed company and we would not prefer an e-auction of the company,” said JP Nayak, whole-time director & president (operations), L&T.
L&T’s stand assumes significance as the newly-constituted board of Satyam is having a meeting today in Hyderabad. Nayak, however said, he would not be meeting the Satyam board in the city.
Spice Corp, another company in the race to buy Satyam had said e-auction would be the most transparent way to find a buyer for Satyam.
L&T, a shareholder in Satyam, is considered as a strong contender to acquire the software exporter firm as its key officials have mounted a sustained campaign to lobby the government and the company’s largest shareholder – Life Insurance Corporation, to support its plans.
largest shareholder of the IT company only next to LIC.
However, L&T is yet to make an open offer to increase its stake in Satyam to over 15%. We have not received any clear guidelines from The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) on relaxation in open offer norms for Satyam. It is up to the Satyam board to decide a suitable buyer for the company,he said.
According to him, L&T has diversified interest spanning from infrastructure to manufacturing to IT. Considering that we have a large software subsidiary (L&T Infotech) Satyam buy will help us build synergies,” he said.
