Thursday, March 12, 2009

Satyam U.S. lawsuits may cost $440-$840 million: report

Mar 12, 2009
MUMBAI (Reuters) U.S. lawsuits filed against fraud-hit Satyam Computer Services (SATY.BO) could cause a liability of between $440 million and $840 million, the Times of India said on Thursday, quoting a potential bidder for the outsourcer.

"We have received a report from our legal advisers Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP and they said the liabilities could range between $440-$840 million. We have to factor this in," the newspaper quoted Spice Group Chairman B.K. Modi as saying.

The diversified Spice Group, which has said it is interested in Satyam, plans to register with the outsourcer on Thursday to participate in a bidding for a majority stake, the paper said.

Modi could not be immediately reached for comment. Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher's Singapore office did not reply to an email query.

Satyam, which now has a stock market value of about $640 million, has been struggling for survival since founder and chairman Ramalinga Raju shocked investors in January, saying the outsourcer's profits had been overstated for years and assets falsified in India's biggest corporate scandal.

It kicked off a bidding process on Monday to sell a 51 percent stake and said bidders need to register by Thursday.

Bidders will be asked to submit a detailed expression of interest and show availability of at least 15 billion rupees ($291 million) by March 20.

($1=51.6 rupees)

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