BANGALORE, Dec 26 (Reuters) - An independent director at Satyam Computer Services Ltd has resigned, the No.4 Indian outsourcer said on Friday, just over a week after the company's botched attempt to enter into construction.
Mangalam Srinivasan's resignation was effective from Thursday, Satyam said in a statement to the stock exchanges. It did not give any reason for the move.
Last week, New York-listed Satyam said it would pay $1.6 billion for two infrastructure firms in which its management held stakes. The plan was dropped within hours after investors reacted angrily, but its shares have since plunged.
On Tuesday, the World Bank said Satyam had been declared ineligible for direct contracts with the Bank for eight years 'for providing improper benefits to Bank staff and for failing to maintain documentation to support fees charged for its subcontractors'.
Satyam said on Thursday it had asked the World Bank to wthdraw 'inappropriate' statements about the company and to issue an apology. A World Bank spokesman in Washington, Carl Hanlon, said the authority stood by its statement.
The board of Satyam, which specialises in business software and offers back-office services, is scheduled to meet on Monday to consider a share buyback, which analysts say is aimed at placating angry shareholders.
Shares in Satyam, which has a market value of $1.9 billion, ended up 0.4 percent at 135.50 rupees in a weak Mumbai market. The stock has lost nearly 40 percent since the first announcement on Dec. 16 to buy into construction firms.
(Reporting by Sumeet Chatterjee; Editing by Ranjit Gangadharan) Keywords: SATYAM/ (sumeet.chatterjee@thomsonreuters.com; +91-80-3982 7450; Reuters Messaging: sumeet.chatterjee.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2008. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
Mangalam Srinivasan's resignation was effective from Thursday, Satyam said in a statement to the stock exchanges. It did not give any reason for the move.
Last week, New York-listed Satyam said it would pay $1.6 billion for two infrastructure firms in which its management held stakes. The plan was dropped within hours after investors reacted angrily, but its shares have since plunged.
On Tuesday, the World Bank said Satyam had been declared ineligible for direct contracts with the Bank for eight years 'for providing improper benefits to Bank staff and for failing to maintain documentation to support fees charged for its subcontractors'.
Satyam said on Thursday it had asked the World Bank to wthdraw 'inappropriate' statements about the company and to issue an apology. A World Bank spokesman in Washington, Carl Hanlon, said the authority stood by its statement.
The board of Satyam, which specialises in business software and offers back-office services, is scheduled to meet on Monday to consider a share buyback, which analysts say is aimed at placating angry shareholders.
Shares in Satyam, which has a market value of $1.9 billion, ended up 0.4 percent at 135.50 rupees in a weak Mumbai market. The stock has lost nearly 40 percent since the first announcement on Dec. 16 to buy into construction firms.
(Reporting by Sumeet Chatterjee; Editing by Ranjit Gangadharan) Keywords: SATYAM/ (sumeet.chatterjee@thomsonreuters.com; +91-80-3982 7450; Reuters Messaging: sumeet.chatterjee.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2008. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
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