This, however, met with stiff resistance from a section in the government that could not fathom the urgency for a takeover or a merger with another company. But that’s where the collective wisdom of Deepak Parekh, Tarun Das and Kiran Karnik helped. “Unlike the old days, when most companies were in the manufacturing sector with tangible assets such as land and building which would only appreciate in value, Satyam was an IT company, its assets were its human resources and intellectual property. The best analogy I could give the government was that of fruits and vegetables—how with time and little care and nurturing, they perish and carry no value,” said a board member who did not wish to be quoted. The Ministry finally saw merit.

Satyam was not to be an Enron. Karnik, Deepak Parekh, Tarun Das, T.N. Manoharan, S. Mainak and C. Achutan brought in by the government proved the Cassandras wrong. Operation ‘Salvage Satyam’ was swift, systematic and benign on employees. This distinguishes India from the US or Europe where market pundits would have argued for the company’s extinction. Enron met such a fate in the US.

The new professional board worked out a plan and meticulously executed it, making it a watershed case of salvaging a company—the fourth largest technology company and one of the flag bearers of India’s advancement in the sunrise tech sector—from the brink of collapse. Its action plan spread over the entire gamut of Satyam’s operations—from getting working capital funds, paying monthly wages, retaining customers and employees and ensuring transparency while working out the bidding process for a new owner.

... contd.