Satyam: L&T & Tech Mahindra are punters' favourites

22 Mar 2009, ET Bureau

NEW DELHI: It may not be a part of the formal process, but the country’s shadowy and illegal betting industry has put in its own “expression of Facts about Satyam interest” in the hotting battle to take over Satyam Computer Services. Well, kind of. With the Indian Premier League some weeks away and general elections longer still, the race to take over control of the scandal-hit company seems to have caught the fancy of the country’s punters, and betting circles are agog with odds on each of the potential suitors.

Engineering group Larsen & Toubro is reckoned as the clear frontrunner, and bookies are accepting bets of 100:105, which offer a payout of Rs 105 on every Rs 100 bet on the company.

Not far behind is Tech Mahindra, which has made no secret of its desire to buy Satyam, and on Friday confirmed that it had put in a formal expression of interest to buy Satyam. Bets in Tech Mahindra’s favour are said to be 100:110, which offer a gain of Rs 10 for every Rs 100 invested if the deal swings in the company’s favour.

“The bets have just started pouring in, as the bidding process starts and it gets more clear about which companies are actually in the race, it is expected that the amount and the interest will rise,” said a Delhi-based punter, who did not wish to be identified, not least because betting is illegal in India.

Unlike in the West where betting is an industry and there are legal betting shops owned by corporate groups, much of the betting in this country is secretive and takes in private circles, with the money involved sometimes used to settle business accounts. Betting activity has traditionally revolved around cricket or politics, but the Satyam saga has got bookmakers excited.

Satyam, which was brought to the brink of collapse earlier this year after its founder and former chairman admitted to cooking its books for years, is the first corporate name to make it to the so-called satta market and punters say the money involved is really big.

Bookmakers in major betting centres such as Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bangalore and Hyderabad are viewing this as a mega event, with bets being laid on who will win control of the company to the amount of the winning bid.