L&T seeks SEBI nod for sale of Satyam stake

Engineering and construction major Larsen & Toubro Ltd has moved market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) seeking permission to sell its stake in Mahindra Satyam Ltd (erstwhile Satyam Computer Services Ltd).

L&T, which had built up a 12 per cent stake in Satyam Computer before its acquisition by Tech Mahindra, now holds around 6.9 per cent in Mahindra Satyam, after capital infusion by the Mahindras.

At current Satyam share price, the L&T holding is worth around Rs900 crore.

Under the terms of Satyam sale, Larsen & Toubro, one of the bidders for the fallen infotech company, cannot sell the stake, acquired prior to the bid, for six months from the sale.
 
For L&T, which lost the race for a controlling stake in Satyam Computer in April this year, the SEBI permission would only be an "enabling arrangement" as it has not set any timeframe for selling its holding.

Satyam, once India's No 4 outsourcing firm, collapsed after founder Ramalinga Raju shocked investors in January by saying the company's profits had been overstated for years, is still not out of the woods.

L&T is also unlikely to offload the stake without considering the market conditions even if the bar on sale of Satyam stock is lifted.

The Mahindra Satyam stock was up 4.4 per cent at Rs111.85 and L&T was down 1.5 per cent at Rs1,497.25 on the Bombay Stock Exchange.