Tech Mahindra at Satyam wheel only after co is on its own: CLB

NEW DELHI: The six government-nominated board members of Satyam Computer Services will step down only after the Company Law Board (CLB) is satisfied that the company is stable, a government official said.

This means Tech Mahindra, which has won the race to buy the fraud-hit company, may not get management control of the IT outsourcing company even after it acquires majority stake.

���The company has to submit periodical reports to the CLB on its functioning. Based on these updates, the CLB will take a view when the government-appointed directors can step down,��� said an official of the ministry of corporate affairs who asked not to be named.

CLB last week allowed Tech Mahindra to nominate four members on Satyam board after depositing cash for acquiring 51% in the company in escrow accounts.

In the absence of majority in the tenmember board, Tech Mahindra nominees would require the support of the six government nominated directors for taking decisions in the company. The corporate affairs ministry official said it���s impossible to say when quasi-judicial body is satisfied that the troubled company, which saw India���s big.

Also, the government, which is the petitioner in the Satyam case before the CLB, will favour the six court-appointed directors to stay till the company can do without any government support.

The ministry had nominated HDFC chairman Deepak Parekh, former ICAI president T N Manoharan, industry chamber CII���s chief mentor Tarun Das, LIC���s Suryakant Balakrishnan, former Nasscom president Kiran Karnik and former Sebi member C Achuthan on Satyam board as ���court-appointed officers��� to run the company till it comes out of its present crisis.

After the completion of the sale process to Tech Mahindra���s subsidiary Venturebay, the CLB will assess whether lenders to the company as well as the clients are happy with Satyam���s operations before full management control is accorded to Tech Mahindra.