The Satyam board is expected to finalise and announce the names of the new Satyam Computer Services CEO and CFO on Wednesday.
The board meeting, which was expected to be held on February 5, was brought forward by a day. "Announcements relating to critical leadership appointments are expected to be made at the board meeting," the company's internal newsletter stated.
The delay in announcing these much-awaited names, note highly-placed sources, was primarily since the new Satyam board was seriously mulling the buyout options that emerged with the interest of numerous suitors in the company.
The names include that of Larsen & Toubro and B K Modi-owned Spice group (both asking for management control), Mahindra & Mahindra, Hinduja group, Essar group (Aegis BPO), HCL Technologies, Tech Mahindra and iGate. Other unconfirmed names include that of Fijustu, Hitachi and IBM.
However, most of these suitors are believed to have asked for 4-8 weeks of time to do a due diligence before they come out with a concrete proposal. Besides, they are also waiting for the Sebi to issue details about the relaxed norms in case of an open offer for Satyam-like cases.
Sebi chairman C B Bhave, said on Tuesday the regulatory body was open to amending the regulations but did not give any details or timeframe.
Hence, the board sensed the urgency of announcing the names to restore investor and client confidence in the company, the sources aver.
"Most of the clients are monitoring the situation quite closely and putting their exposure to Satyam on hold. If things don't improve, there might be many more termination of contracts," a highly-placed source said.
The Satyam board had said earlier that it had received over 40 applications for the post of CEO of which it had shortlisted a few.
The name that tops the CEO shortlist is said to be that of Homi Khusrokhan, former MD of Tata Chemicals, for the post of Satyam CEO.
Khusrokhan attended the last Satyam board meet as a special invitee to understand the situation, and go deeper into the problems.
The board is also understood to be avoiding any top-level reshuffling in the company and wants to maintain the status quo for the time being as many of these senior members are busy persuading the clients to stay back.
Incidentally, a high-level delegation from the US Securities and Exchange Commission is expected to meet Sebi and the Satyam board in the next two days to gather information on the Satyam scandal, reports PTI. Around 12 class-action suits have been filed against Satyam in the US.
Meanwhile, a company release said Satyam secured 15 new contracts last month. It got three contracts from the US -- one in the insurance sector, one in the pharmaceutical sector and a contract extension from an existing technology client, according to a company release.
Similarly, there were two account wins in Europe -- one in chemicals manufacturing and the other in the services business.
This apart, it has bagged 10 contracts from the rest of the world, including renewals in Japan, Africa, West Asia, India, Asia-Pacific and Australia and New Zealand. However, the Satyam stock today dipped 7 per cent to touch Rs 53.75 on BSE.
The company has also informed its employees that one of its key customers in the aviation industry has recently renewed its infrastructure services contract. The company would continue to provide its services in the web infrastructure support area.
Satyam also stated that one of the global leaders in the networking space of consumers and small business users awarded a contract last week. Spanning six months, the project would be executed through a 20-member onsite and offshore team.
Maytas to boost investor confidence
Maytas Infra on Tuesday informed that it would be exploring various strategies and options for restoring confidence amongst its stakeholders. The company proposed to form a taskforce for the purpose.