Satyam:Merger not mandate of new board

Suitors for troubled Satyam Computer may keep away,as the Government clarified that selling the company was not the mandate of the newly appointed Board of the IT major.

“That is not the mandate of the (three-member) board,” Corporate Affairs Minister Prem Chand Gupta told reporters when asked whether there was a possibility of a buyout of the beleaguered IT major whose board has been superseded by the Government.

Satyam Computer earlier decided to appoint investment banker DSP Merrill Lynch to look for a strategic partner and explore possibilities of merger and acquisition. The investment company,however,backed out of the deal after the disclosure of fraud by Satyam’s founder Ramalinga Raju.

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The first priority of the newly appointed three-member Satyam board,Gupta said,”Would clearly be to restore the company’s credibility,customer confidence and employee morale,as also to safeguard the interest of investors and other stakeholders.”

The Government appointed a three-member board comprising noted banker HDFC chairman Deepak Parekh,IT expert and past Nasscom president Kiran Karnik and former Sebi member C Achutan.

The new board will have its first meeting tomorrow at Hyderabad,where the company is headquartered.

Gupta further said more members would be appointed on the board of Satyam,which as per the recent Company Law Board (CLB) order can have a maximum of 10 members.