Satyam recovers from day's low

The share price of Satyam Computers today witnessed wild swings on market rumours of a potential hostile takeover bid.

The company’s stock, which touched an intraday low of Rs 114 on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), closed the day today at Rs 134. However, the share was still down 3.88 per cent or Rs 5.45 from the previous day’s close.

The counter generated a combined volume of over 12 crore shares on BSE as well as the National Stock Exchange (NSE).

The market capitalisation (m-cap) of the company has declined by 40 per cent over a week’s time as its share price fell from Rs 226 on December 16 to Rs 134. The company’s m-cap stood at Rs 9,093 crore today compared to Rs 15,263 crore on December 16.
 

MARKET CAP OF TOP IT FIRMS
Company	Market cap (in Rs cr)		Share price (Rs)
	Dec 24, 08	Dec 16, 08	Dec 24, 08	Dec 16, 08
TCS	46,781.97	47,046.20	478.05	480.75
Infosys	67,097	64,286.03	1172	11,22.9
Wipro	34,016.39	35,040.98	232.4	239.4
Satyam	9,093.61	15,263.84	134.94	226.5
HCL Tech	7,815.25	8,230.27	116.75	122.95
Tech Mahindra	3,025.60	3,345.75	248.55	274.85
Patni	1643.73	1757.1	126.15	134.85

Satyam’s share price was badly hit yesterday by the rumour that its founder and chairman B Ramalinga Raju has resigned.

Deriving credence from the company’s scattered ownership pattern, rumours, in fact, started affecting Satyam in the equity market soon after the Maytas deal fiasco.

In Satyam, the promoters own 8 per cent, FIIs 47 per cent, insurance companies 9 per cent, mutual funds 6 per cent and 20 per cent in American Depository Receipts (ADRs), which do not have voting rights.

Therefore, stockbrokers said, it would be easy for any large corporate to take over the management control with more than 8 per cent stake.

The names of some MNCs and PE funds are doing the rounds at this point in time as prospective buyers. However, there was also a section of market players that strongly refuted the takeover rumours.