Satyam Computer Services Ltd. has said that it will select the winning bid by April 30. The troubled software exporter had short listed six bidders which included L&T, Spice Group and Tech Mahindra. The winning bidder will be allowed to pick up upto a 51% stake in the company by the end of April.
The board of the company has also set rules and guidelines for the successful bidder. There is a lock in period of two years, so the buyer of the controlling stake should not sell the company’s assets for two years. The winner must also retain at least 100 key employees for one year, it said.
“Bidders should expect to receive a response” to their expressions of interest within five days from the March 20 deadline for submitting them, Satyam said in the statement.
The buyer will also have to pay fees to Goldman Sachs and Avendus Capital Ltd., which are advising Satyam on the sale, as well as legal costs, the company said in the statement.
According to a report in The Economic Times, a senior company official is understood to be assisting a special advisor to the board and a career consulting agency to identify key employees. The list will be approved by the government appointed Satyam board.
The bidders were expected to show proof of Rs 1,500 crore in cash and also the sources of funding to effect the transaction. Former chief justice of India SP Bharucha is overseeing the sale process.