Tech Mahindra has won the auction to get a controlling stake in Satyam.
The Mahindras are a respected Indian business house but when it comes to services I have always felt they have too many fragmented – and smallish - units. They have Bristlecone, a supply chain and SAP services acquisition from a few years ago; Logisoft focused on dealer management; vertical services embedded in their finance, farm equipment and automotive divisions, a horizontal “Special Services group” which does risk management and other strategy work, and now the Tech unit a joint venture with BT, will own the stake in Satyam.
With Satyam shareholder lawsuits, customer and employee defection they will have their hands full – but if the new-found Satyam scale forces them to rationalize their services a bit, it will be a pleasant payback the market is not crediting in their acquisition decision.
