Tech Mahindra to prepay Satyam loan

4 Jun 2009, ET Now

The new owners of Satyam Computer Services plan to prepay a Rs 300-crore loan the company had taken in February in an indication of its improved financial position just a month after being taken over by Tech Mahindra.

Part of the money that Satyam received from Tech Mahindra when it bought a 31% stake in the Hyderabad-based company will be used to retire the loan, a person familiar with the development said.

Satyam’s board of directors has approved the early repayment. “The cash flow situation has improved as the company has been able to recover some of its dues,” he said.

The loan was raised from IDBI Bank and Bank of Baroda after the government-appointed board tasked with rescuing Satyam found that the company was cash-strapped and did not have enough funds to meet its short-term obligations.

The company’s founder B Ramalinga Raju said on January 7 that its accounts were manipulated, leaving an over Rs 7,000-crore hole in its books.

The one-year loan, carrying a 13.5% interest rate, was raised by pledging Satyam’s land in Hyderabad. The company only drew half the Rs 600 crore it was sanctioned by the banks.

Tech Mahindra, which in April won the bid for Satyam, has infused Rs 1,756 crore into the company by subscribing to a preferential issue of 30.27 crore shares at Rs 58 per share. An open offer to buy a further 20% stake will open on June 12.