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Infosys co-founder NR Narayana Murthy and the company's board are independently approaching the investors to gather support for an extraordinary general meeting (EGM), reported the Economic Times.
The move is likely to intensify the ongoing corporate governance battle between Murthy and the Infosys board. On August 18, the company’s chief executive officer (CEO) Vishal Sikka resigned citing 'continuous assault' from Murthy as the main reason.
Murthy, who is in favour of a change of the board, is likely to seek investors' approval for new directors, the ET report said. He is also expected to brief the investors on August 29.
Here is a look at all that has happened since Sikka’s resignation last week:
> The board has publically disapproved Murthy's open attacks on corporate governance. The board, backing Sikka, in a letter to exchanges, blamed Murthy's continuous interference as a reason for Sikka leaving the company.
> In a separate response, Murthy reiterated his demand to make investigation report of Panaya acquisition public. Murthy had accused that a few board members benefited from the deal.
> On August 19, Infosys said it would buy back 11.3 crore shares, or 4.92 percent of equity capital, at Rs 1,150 a piece. The company will spend Rs 13,000 crore on the same.
> The interim CEO UB Pravin Rao on Tuesday sent an email to employees outlining the company's agenda for coming months and to boost their morale amid the internal and external turmoil that the company is undergoing.
> Former board members also sided with Sikka. Omkar Goswami, ex-board member and the current member of its business process outsourcing (BPO) — in an open letter — said that Murthy needs to walk away as he had promised when he handed the reigns to Sikka.
> Former CFO V Balakrishnan, on Tuesday, also said that four other board members, including Chairman R Seshasayee and co-chairman Ravi Venkatesan, need to resign over corporate governance issues. He said that before a new CEO is selected, the board should be reshuffled.
> Amid the crisis, Venkatesan met the Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and some senior officials on August 22 to discuss the latest developments.
> On August 22, market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India said that it is keeping a close tab on Infosys, whose share price plunged by nearly 10 percent on Friday wiping out nearly Rs 22,519 crore.
> On Tuesday, top fund managers and Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) wrote to Infosys board, pitching for co-founder Nandan Nilekani's return.
> Murthy was supposed to hold an investor call on August 23, which has now been postponed to August 29.
> On Wednesday, a CNBC-TV18's source-based report said that Nilekani is likely to return as the Infosys head. In a day or two, there will be clarity on his role.
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