The position of Satyam Computer Services promotors B Ramalinga Raju and his family in the company has weakened further with the promoter stake in the IT firm dropping further to 3.60 per cent following the share sale by lenders, with whom all the promoter’s equity has been pledged.

In a disclosure to the stock exchanges, Satyam said that the stake of Raju’s holding firm SRSR Holdings in Satyam has come down to 3.60 per cent from 5.13 per cent due to the sale of shares pledged by the promoters to lenders for raising funds.

The lenders have sold over 1.02 crore Satyam shares (1.53%), which were pledged by the promoters, in open market transactions. After the sale, SRSR Holdings now have 2.42 crore shares representing 3.60 per cent stake in Satya m, which includes over 1.16 crore pledged shares already transferred to lenders, the filing added. Raju's family had held 8.27 per cent through SRSR Holdings at the end of September quarter.

According to market sources, the stake sale by the lenders could be to cover margin calls. "A borrower (the Rajus in this case) receives a margin call from a broker or lender if the securities he had bought (with borrowed money) or the securities he had pledged for raising money decreased in value past a certain point. He would be forced either to deposit more money in the account or to sell off some of borrower's assets. The broker or lender may sell securities without contacting the borrower first. This normally happens when the share prices fall steeply," said a source.

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