Patni stake sale called off

Differences over management control, brothers demand higher premium.

With Narendra Patni refusing to give up management control, all talks over the proposed stake sale by the major stakeholders of Mumbai-based Patni Computer Systems have ended.

This development leaves Narendra Patni firmly in the saddle "" at least till December 2008, when his tenure expires "" especially now that his brothers have given up executive control.

His brothers "" Ashok and Gajendra "" did not want him to remain the CEO, sources close to the development said, ostensibly to bring in a new leadership that would strengthen the marketing and management teams, and accelerate the company's growth.

To catalyse the proposed change, they were reportedly willing to sell around 12 per cent of their stake to any private equity fund.

Ashok and Gajendra Patni together hold about 29 per cent stake in Patni, almost double that of Narendra Patni's stake. General Atlantic, too, reportedly wanted to encash its holding.

The deal, however, had reached a stalemate since Narendra Patni would not give up control, and any private equity (PE) investor that pumped in money in the company would not settle for anything less than management control.

This time around, the brothers were also asking for around Rs 700 per share. At the current share price of Rs 428.90, this would mean shelling out a premium of a little over Rs 270 per share.

PE players Apax, along with Texas Pacific Group, had joined hands for the deal. However, these two dropped out of the race after last night's meeting. Earlier, the Carlyle group had walked out of the deal.

The company, in an official reply, said: "All the major shareholders have confirmed to the company that there are no specific discussions under way with any potential investors, strategic or otherwise, that may lead to change of control."

Patni's share closed at Rs 404.80, down 5.62 per cent from its previous close of Rs 428.90. At the current price, the company is valued at around Rs 5,586 crore.