Aberdeen Global drags Satyam to court in UK

Satyam Computer Services, now rebranded as Mahindra Satyam, today said it has received a claim from Aberdeen Global & Others for their alleged losses due to investment made in the company's stock.

"A claim form addressed to company's branch office at UK, as filed before the High Court of Justice, Queen's Bench Division, Commercial Court, UK, for an amount to be assessed, has been received from Aberdeen Global & Others," Satyam said in a filing to the BSE.

The claim alleges an estimated loss in excess of $150 million, opportunity loss and interest at 8%, due to the investment made in the company's stock and/or ADSs, the filing added.

When contacted, a senior official said, "We have already informed this issue during the last quarter results that there may be a few more claims from some investors."

"We have received formal notice two days ago. Our legal teams are working on that and we will soon reply to the claim," the official added.

Satyam shares stopped trading on NSYSE this year. It is now set to merge with Tech Mahindra which had acquired the company in 2010 through a formal public auction process.

Last year, Mahindra Satyam had agreed to pay $125 million (over Rs 587 crore) in an out-of-court settlement to end a bunch of class action suits filed in the US after the accounting scam in Satyam came to light in 2009. Its founder B Ramalinga Raju had admitted to fudging the account books.

Satyam had also agreed to pay $70 million in a legal settlement with British firm Upaid Systems.