0		Who, will, rescue, Satyam, Computers?, L&T?

CEO has admitted fraud and resigned. Independent directors are caught unaware. The auditors PriceWaterCooperHouse are hiding behind the client confidentiality. The stock is down 80%.

That is not it. Most of the banks are disowning the company saying they have current accounts but no loans. Merill Lynch which was supposed to help with the merger terminated its association. Most of the brokerages stopped giving investor calls on the stock.

It goes on. At least 15000 resume’s came out from Satyam employees yesterday (could be rumors). Most of the clients are re-looking at their contracts. In all probability they might be shifting to other vendors. Wipro is rumored to be the biggest gainer out of this.

The companies which were in the fray to a possible acquisition or a merger have backed out. No one will touch a tainted company. But, there is one company which is making strategic moves. It is Larsen & Tourbo. The infrastructure major has interests in IT through its subsidiary L&T Infotech.

L&T has raised its stake in Satyam from 2% to 4%. It is using the secondary markets. Their logic is simple and two-fold. If someone takes over the company they will make a decent money out of their stock purchase. If someone doesn’t takeover, half the clients jump and 30% of the employees leave, it will still be a good fit for L&T.

Some see trouble some see opportunity. Some see forest and some see trees. It is important to separate the trees out of the forest. That is exactly what L&T is trying to do. I just hope that this decision pays for them for the sake of Satyam’s employees.