IBM is the leading contender for the acquisition of
troubled Indian IT supplier Satyam,according to reports.
The global IT giant could help stabilise Satyam, which was
rocked by an
internal fraud earlier this year.
Satyam said it was too early to comment on speculation
surrounding specific bidders but said there were several. There
will be an announcement in the next couple of weeks concerning a
takeover, said Satyam.
Phil Morris, European managing director at sourcing consultancy
Equaterra, said it requires a big company to re-establish Satyam
after the $1bn accounting fraud scandal that hit it in January.
Former CEO B Ramalinga Raju resigned and
confessed to inflating the company's financial figures.
There have been reports of Satyam staff looking for new jobs and
customers have been terminating their contracts with the supplier
since the news of the fraud broke.
Morris said the
employees and
customers of Satyam will be valuable acquisitions for IBM.
"Satyam has a lot of good skilled people and a wealth client
relationships that need a stable organisation to steady the ship,"
added Morris.
IBM already has the biggest Indian presence of any IT
supplier.