Patni Computer promoters to take call on stake sale by January

Reviving plans to offload part of their holdings in Patni Computer Systems, promoters are studying offers from various companies, according to market sources. A clear decision on bids from various contenders for the promoter holdings, added the sources, was expected by January. The three Patni brothers, non-executive chairman Narendra Patni and his younger brothers, Gajendra and Ashok, hold equal stakes totalling 48.3 per cent in India’s sixth-largest software exporter. Private equity company General Atlantic holds 18 per cent, while the rest is public.

General Atlantic is understood to have been holding talks with potential suitors for a stake sale, sources said, adding that L&T Infotech continues to be a front-runner for such an acquisition. It was not known if Narendra Patni would look to increas his stake in the company, though such a possibility could not be ruled out, sources said.

It is also understood that companies which have evinced interest in the bidding process for at least 25 per cent of the promoter holdings include Dell-Perot, Fujitsu, IBM and Accenture.

Gajendra and Ashok Patni had tried to monetise part of their stake in the company two years earlier, but failed because Narendra Patni, then executive chairman, was not ready to give up operational control. However, talks to revive the stake sale gathered momentum after former MphasiS Ltd CEO Jeya Kumar moved to Patni Computer in February this year, and Narendra Patni became non-executive chairman. Asked about these developments, Patni CFO Surjeet Singh said he did not wish to comment on rumours and speculation.

Patni Computer reported a 6.5 per cent decline in net income to Rs 168.5 crore during the third quarter ended September 30, from Rs 180.2 crore in the corresponding quarter a year earlier. Revenue for the quarter, at Rs 833.7 crore, dipped 1.5 per cent from Rs 846.7 crore.