IT cos alone should bid for Satyam: Vineet Nayyar

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Much has been said about saving and selling Satyam . BK Modi of Spice Communications said an open bid is the best way to do so. Another interested party and Satyam shareholder, L&T believes the IT major's board should focus not as much as on price discovery, as on choosing the right partner for the company. In other words, that means picking someone with prior IT experience, but by doing that will the price discovery process be compromised.

 

So, are efficiency in maximum price discovery and finding the right partner mutually exclusive? Vineet Nayyar of Tech Mahindra feels there should be prequalification of bidders to ensure the right kind of companies participation in open bid.

 

Commenting on Satyam bid, Vineet Nayyar, Vice Chairman, Managing Director and CEO of Tech Mahindra, is of the opinion that only IT companies should be allowed to bid for Satyam. He feels pre-qualifying companies will give comfort to the clients, to employees and in the long run it will work for the shareholders also because they will be able to stop the haemorrhage, which is likely to occur.

 

Here is a verbatim transcript of the exclusive interview with Vineet Nayyar on CNBC-TV18. Also watch the accompanying video.

 

Q: Why should only IT companies be allowed? Why should there be a prequalification-- Ramalinga Raju was not born knowing technology and look at what he has achieved by being a tech man. So why leave out other companies?

 

A: Essentially, we have to check for ourselves what is it that we want? What we want is not only price, which should drive it, what we are looking at is various stakeholders--that the stakeholder number one, at this point of time, are the clients. With what kind of organizations, with what kind of company will they be comfortable and not move away the business. Number two, all the technology staff which are there, who have worked rather well and they would like an environment or a home which is familiar with the life in a technology company. And also equally important, is the shareholder what is in there for him. By pre-qualifying certain categories of companies through criteria, which I presume the board would decide for itself, their technology practice will be one of the most important criteria.

 

By pre-qualifying those companies you are giving comfort to the clients, you are giving comfort to the employees and in the long run it will work for the shareholders also because they will be able to stop the haemorrhage, which is likely to occur.

 

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