Although L&T had approached SEBI for a waiver from the lock-in period for selling its 6.9 per cent stake in Mahindra Satyam, the company has not yet received any answer, said Mr A.M. Naik, Chairman and Managing Director, L&T, on Wednesday.
He added that since the shares are doing well the company may not actually sell its stake in Satyam.
“We have taken no decision on what to do with those shares as of now. Also, even if we had an answer we would not have sold the shares as they are making money,” said Mr Naik, while speaking to the media at the sidelines of a conference.
He added that there is a further issue of a tax liability regarding the capital gains tax, which applies if the stake is sold before one year.
“We have to take a view in totality and have therefore not made up our minds yet,” he said.
He added that only two months are left out of the total lock-in period of six months.
Prior to Satyam’s takeover by Mahindra earlier this year, L&T had built a strategic share in Satyam at about 12 per cent, which had subsequently fallen to 6.9 per cent based on the enhanced share capital.
Moreover, bidders for Satyam had been barred from selling their stakes acquired before the bid, for at least six months. This was because the bidders had been given access to Satyam’s financial information which was not public at the time.
Satyam’s shares on the BSE were down 1.83 per cent at Rs 102.10 on Wednesday from the previous close of Rs 104 on Tuesday. The shares, however, have risen 37.05 per cent from the month-ago close on July 10 at Rs 74.50.
Source: The Hindu Businessline