Does Satyam have a suitor?

The valuations of Satyam are at the perfect level to attract suitors who are bargain hunting. The fourth-largest Nasdaq-listed IT company is valued at just Rs99,435 crore or $2 billion at current prices.

Chairman Ramalinga Raju's family held a little over 8 per cent through SRSR Holdings, while institutional investors such as ICICI Prudential, Aberdeen Asset Management and Fidelity held 60 per cent.

The company had warned the stock exchanges earlier in a filing this week that stated, "Satyam has received a communication from the promoters that all their shares in the company held by SRSR Holding Pvt Ltd were pledged with institutional lenders over a period of time since September 2006. It is possible that some of the lenders may exercise or may have exercised their option to liquidate such quantum of shares at their discretion to cover the margin shortfall. This would consequently dilute the promoters' holding in the company."

There were several unconfirmed reports about how much the promoter's stake could have fallen from the level of 8.6 per cent. However, it is clear that Rajus' stake is still above 2 per cent as it is mandatory to make a disclosure otherwise.

Who is interested in Satyam?

The Satyam story has been playing out like a whodunit. Now the question is will the promoters lose control over the company? If so, who could be the buyer for the country's fourth-largest IT firm.