Promoter stake in Satyam dips to 3.6%

HYDERABAD/MUMBAI: Satyam promoters��� hold over the company weakened a bit further on Tuesday, post an announcement that their shareholding in India���s fourth-largest software exporter had fallen to 3.6% after institutional lenders sold stocks pledged with them.

Satyam had said last Friday that the promoters��� stake ��� founder B Ramalinga Raju and his family ��� had dropped to 5.13% from 8.27% following the sale of stock pledged by SRSR Holdings, the corporate entity which holds the founders��� shares.
In an announcement made to the stock exchanges on Tuesday, IL&FS Trust Company said it had sold a total of 2.45 crore shares of Satyam on behalf of institutional lenders between December 23 and January 5. The sale of shares has been ���on specific written instructions��� by the debenture holders and lenders, the announcement added.

The lenders were identified as DSP Merrill Lynch, DSP BlackRock, Deutsche Bank, HDFC Mutual Fund and IL&FS Financial Services, while the borrowers were believed to be Amravati Greenfields, Bangar Agro and Narayandri Greenfields. These entities had apparently borrowed a total of Rs 422.5 crore from the institutional lenders by issuing non-convertible debentures.

The largest chunk of shares, totalling 74.15 lakh, was offloaded on behalf of DSP BlackRock between December 23-24. The trustee sold a little over 50 lakh shares on behalf of HDFC Mutual Fund on January 2. It sold another 38.97 lakh shares on December 23 on behalf of DSP Merrill Lynch while 47.06 lakh shares and 35 lakh shares were sold on behalf of Deutsche Bank and IL&FS Financial Services, respectively.

A Satyam spokeswoman said the promoters��� holding is 3.6%, according to the disclosure made to the stock exchanges. She said the company is ���not privy��� to information which may link any of the borrowers to either SRSR Holdings or the Raju family.

The news of the most recent dilution in the founders��� holding comes amid speculation about the Hyderabad-based company being a ripe takeover target for rivals or funds. ���Of the 3.6% ��� still owned by the founders ��� around 1.7% is pledged with institutional lenders. It is now up to the foreign institutional investors to decide on the further course of action. But they may not sell their stake if the price is not attractive. Any prospective buyer will have to strike a good deal with the foreign funds to take over the company,��� said Harit Shah, an analyst at Angel Broking.

Institutional investors led by Aberdeen Asset Management, Fidelity and ICICI Prudential hold 61% stake in Satyam.
Shares of Satyam Computers gained more than 7% on BSE to settle at Rs 179.10. On NSE, it closed at Rs 178.95. While the stock has gained more than 11% in the past one week, it is down 20% over the past month.