Patni promoters to sell their stakes

Tuesday, 06 April 2010, 00:01 IST   |    10 Comments
Printer Print Email Email
Patni promoters to sell their stakes
Mumbai: In an attempt to sell their stakes, promoters and financial investors of the software exporter, Patni Computer Systems, are in discussions with international and local firms, report George Smith Alexander and N Shivapriya from the Economic Times. Japanese strategic investors, who had earlier shown interest in acquiring a majority stake, are among those back in the reckoning. The NTT Group, the second-largest telecom company globally, as well as Fujitsu and Hitachi, have returned to the negotiating table and are in talks with members of the promoter group, the same people said. L&T Infotech, the IT arm of engineering giant L&T, has also re-entered the race. Also, the names of a few U.S. technology firms, which are looking to boost their software delivery capability from India, have also surfaced, although the Japanese seem more keen, investment banking sources said. As reported by the Economic Times, the sources added that the deal, if any, could take a few months to be completed, as all three Patni brothers need to come to an understanding. Narendra Kumar Patni, who, among the brothers, has played the most active role in growing the company and is based out of Boston, Massachusetts, is expected to be in Mumbai for the company's board meeting on April 24. According to the bankers, the Patni brothers, who earlier wanted Rs 750-800 a share, have now scaled down their expectations to Rs 700-725. The company is now run by a professional CEO, Jeya Kumar. The three brothers are on the board. However, a spokesperson for Patni said the company does not comment on market speculation. The brothers own 46.5 percent of the IT exporter, while private equity (PE) player, General Atlantic, holds around 17 percent, part of which is through American Depository Receipts. The PE player had invested around $100 million in September 2002 and is keen to exit. At current valuations, its holding is valued at around Rs 1,200 crore, or around $256 million. Around two years ago, Narendra Patni wanted a higher price to be paid to him compared to General Atlantic. But he is no longer insisting on this. Last year, Ashok and Gajendra Patni, Narendra Patni's brothers, sold around 1.76 percent stake after talks with potential investors stalled.