Tech Mahindra appoints 4 directors on Satyam board

Four nominee directors of Tech Mahindra, including its Chief Executive Vineet Nayar, were today appointed on the board of tainted IT firm Satyam Computer, with effect from June 1.

The other three nominee directors on behalf of Venturbay Consultants (an arm of Tech Mahindra), which acquired 31 per cent stake in the Hyderabad-based company in April, include C P Gurnani, Sanjay Kalra and Ulhas N Yargop, Satyam said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange.

Gurnani currently heads Tech Mahindra's global operations, Kalra is President Strategic Initiatives while Yargop is President for IT sector and a member of the Group Management Board of Mahindra & Mahindra.

The appointment of the nominee directors comes pursuant to the completion of the share purchase agreement between Tech Mahindra and Satyam Computer Services, under which the new owner of the IT firm had completed the acquisition of a 31 per cent stake in the company for Rs 1,756 crore.

"Following the effectiveness of the appointment of Venbturbay Directors, there will be a total of 10 directors on the board," Satyam said.

In January the government had appointed Kiran Karnik, Deepak Parekh, C Achuthan, Tarun Das, T N Manoharan and S Balakrishna Mainak on the board of Satyam Computer after its founder Ramalinga Raju disclosed of a multi-crore financial fraud in the company's books of accounts.

Last month, Tech Mahindra had outbid others in the race to acquire a majority stake in the scam-tainted Satyam Computer, following which Venturbay had deposited Rs 2,910 crore in the escrow account for a 51 per cent controlling stake in the IT firm.

Further, Tech Mahindra would be making a cash tender offer to the public shareholders for acquiring an additional 20 per cent, at a minimum price of Rs 58 a share, which is scheduled to begin on June 12.

Tech Mahindra, in which BT Group Plc owns 31 per cent, has valued Satyam at about Rs 5,800 crore.

Shares of Satyam closed at Rs 53.65, up 11.54 per cent on the BSE.