The Hindu Business Line : Financial bids for Satyam likely by April 9

New Delhi/Mumbai, March 23 The shortlisted bidders for Satyam Computer Services may be asked to submit their financial bids around April 9, a source involved in the process said.

While the Satyam Board Chairman, Mr Kiran Karnik, remained tight-lipped on the company’s bid schedule, sources said that Spice Group, Tech Mahindra and L&T are among the suitors shortlisted for the next round.

The name of the other shortlisted bidders could not be ascertained immediately. When contacted, the SpiceCorp Chairman, Dr B.K. Modi, declined to comment on the issue but confirmed that his company had received a communication from Satyam. “We have been told that we have qualified for the next round,” he said, adding that transparency was still an issue that needed to be resolved.

L&T and Tech Mahindra declined to comment, but sources indicated that both the companies had made it to the next round. The Satyam board has strictly instructed bidders to refrain from leaking the bid details to the media, a senior official with one of the parties interested in Satyam said.

Also, according to a highly placed source, the winning bid for picking up a 51 per cent stake in the Hyderabad-based IT company is likely to be announced by April 15. Meanwhile, some of the bidders said the information disclosures by Satyam will be critical in formulation of the price bid strategy. “Not only is it important that everyone is told who the shortlisted parties are, but since there have been media reports that CBI believes that the Satyam fraud could involve a bigger amount – Rs 10,000 crore – there needs to be full disclosure to the interested parties,” they said.

At least one of the bidders that Business Line spoke to appeared to be uncomfortable with the idea of submission of a price bid in closed envelopes. While as a norm the tendering process is kept confidential, this particular bidder felt that the auction process needs to be open to ensure maximum transparency in selection of the bidder. “Also, why should technical and financial bids be invited simultaneously when bidders have already submitted nearly 100 pages giving out similar information as required in the technical bid?” the bidder asked.

In a related development, Spice Innovative Technologies, an information and advanced technology solutions company of Spice Group announced the appointment of US-based Mr Joe Liemandt, founder-Chairman and CEO of Trilogy Inc., on its board. Spice Group has placed its EoI for Satyam through Spice Innovative Technologies. Mr Liemandt is part of the team at Spice Innovative Technologies which is evaluating the possibility of equity acquisition and management control of Satyam Computer Services.

With inputs from S. Shanker