L&T denies Satyam proposal reports

22 January 2009

Larsen & Toubro Ltd, the engineering and construction giant,  denied media reports on Thursday  that it had plans to present a revival proposal to the board of scam-hit Satyam Computer Services Ltd.

Reports in the media had suggested that Larsen was a front-runner for taking over the Hyderbad-based IT firm with Satyam's institutional supporters Life Insurance Corp and ICICI Prudential LIfe Insurance backing the bid.

Larsen & Toubro holds about 4 per cent in Satyam. It had announced that it may strike an alliance with the software services exporter after full investigations into its accounts had concluded.

Another media report citing invesment banking and government sources said that L&T would bid once KPMG and Deloitte the new auditors released restated results.

A company spokesman on Thursday denied L&T was making a presentation to Satyam's new board.

Satyam, the fourth-largest Indian software exporter, has been battling for survival since chairman Ramalinga Raju's exit this month, following confessions of falsifed accounts over years and a non-existent $1 billion of cash on the books.