Satyam may get new name, CEO under Tech Mahindra

SATYAM TECH 2

Sonali Krishna ET NOW

SATYAM, which has found a new owner in Tech Mahindra, is set to be re-christened and have a new CEO. Sources within Tech Mahindra told ET that the name Satyam, like Enron, has become synonymous with the scandal and the new owner is thus left with no choice but to go in for a new tag. Post the Company Law Board’s approval, which is expected by Friday, the contract to be signed by Tech Mahindra allows it to rename the company.
    However, a senior Tech Mahindra official did mention that post CLB approval and after the company infuses funds into Satyam for a 31% stake, the reconstituted board which will have a TechM representative will meet the Satyam management and consider their opinion on rechristening the brand.
    The current CEO AS Murty, who took charge after the government superseded the erstwhile Satyam Board, is set to exit the firm, according to a top Tech Mahindra official who did not wish to be named. An indication to this effect was given at a press conference on Monday when a senior Tech Mahindra official said that the company had “its managerial capabilities to manage Satyam”. However, Mahindra officials made no direct comment during the press conference on whether Mr Murty will continue in his current charge.
    Ram Mynampati, the interim chief executive officer of Satyam Computer Services, may also exit when Tech Mahindra takes management control of the beleaguered IT firm, said a person familiar with the developments. Mr Mynampati was the whole-time director on the erstwhile Satyam Board whose role came under the spotlight after the IT firm’s botched acquisition of Maytas Infra and Maytas Properties, the two firms linked to Satyam’s defamed promoter B Ramalinga Raju.
    Investigating agencies questioned Mr Maynampati and other erstwhile board directors after Raju admitted to perpetrating a Rs 7,000 crore fraud. He served as the interim CEO of Satyam for less than a week and had to exit after the government appointed its own nominees on the Satyam board.
    Neither Mr Mynampati nor Mr Murty may have figured in the list of key 100 employees to be retained for a year after a new owner takes charge, said people familiar with the developments.
    The retention of 100 key associates was one of the pre-requisites that Tech Mahindra had to agree to. The top management of Satyam is understood to have short-listed key leaders. “The list includes customer-facing key leaders, relationship managers, solution architects and programme managers for the account”, the person said. The performance track record over the past three years was one of the key criteria. Associates who did not complete three years were also considered, based on individual performance. Satyam has 43,500 employees directly on its pay rolls.
Satyam to delist from NYSE Euronext
HYDERABAD: SATYAM Computer Services has decided to delist from NYSE Euronext, the regulated market of Euronext Amsterdam, due to the legal and financial burden of listing. The scandal-hit company on Tuesday said it does not intend to delist from the Indian bourses or the New York Stock Exchange. On Monday, Satyam found a new owner in IT services firm Tech Mahindra. The company, an arm of the Mahindra and Mahindra group, said it would pay Rs 2,889 crore for a controlling stake Satyam. Satyam launched a secondary listing on Euronext Amsterdam under NYSE Euronext’s new “fast path” process for cross-listings in New York and Europe. The application for delisting is subject to the approval of Euronext Amsterdam, the company said in a statement on Tuesday.

 

 

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