Infosys gains nearly 3% on buzz of Nandan Nilekani’s return at helm of affairs

Trade

• Watchlist
• Portfolio
• Message
• Set Alert

 

 

live

• bselive
• nselive

Volume

Todays L/H

More

×

Infosys added nearly 3 percent intraday on Wednesday after reports emerged that former executive Nandan Nilekani is likely to return at the helm of affairs at the company.

A clarity on his role at Infosys is expected in the next 48 hours, CNBC-TV18 reported, quoting sources.

Nilekani held the position of CEO at the IT major firm between 2002 and 2007. He went on to lead the charge at Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), the authority for issuing Aadhaar identity to Indian citizens.

Interestingly, the development comes a day after top fund managers and domestic institutional investors wrote to the Board of Infosys pitching for the return of co- Nilekani in a "suitable capacity".

According to the signatories of the letter, Nilekani enjoys the confidence of customers, stakeholders and employees and his return to the board would instill credibility.

Investors expressed concern over the developments around Infosys. They feel Nilekani would be able to facilitate the resolution of "contentious issues".

Additionally, a conference call to be held between NR Narayana Murthy and investors later in the day has now been pushed to August 29. The man at the centre of the tussle at Infosys after Vishal Sikka’s exit postponed the call citing health issues, according to Investec.

Over the past few months, Infosys has been embroiled in controversy after founder NR Narayana Murthy raised issues of corporate governance at the company and questioned some of the decisions that had been taken by Sikka.

The Nilekani family has a 2.29 percent stake in Infosys as per the quarter ended June this year.

Former CFO V Balakrishnan, in an interview to CNBC-TV18, batted for Nilekani to be made the chairman at Infosys, adding that all shareholders will be comfortable with this decision. Further, he added that R Seshasayee and Ravi Venkatesan should step down as they have let down shareholders.

Infosys stock has been a drag on the indices in the sessions preceding to the previous one on the back of CEO and MD Vishal Sikka’s resignation. On the day of Sikka’s exit, the stock ended around 10 percent lower, while the fall continued on Monday as well.

The stock fell over 9 percent in the past month, while its three-day loss stood at 3 percent.

At 12:38 hrs Infosys was quoting at Rs 900.00, up Rs 22.85, or 2.61 percent on the BSE. It touched an intraday high of Rs 904.00 and an intraday low of Rs 874.55.