Satyam pledges land to secure Rs 600-cr loan

IDBI, Bank of Baroda and LIC have sanctioned short-term loans worth Rs 600 crore to beleaguered IT major Satyam Computer, which has pledged a part of its land-bank for this purpose.

Confirming the development, sources said that certain formalities were yet to be completed, after which the loans would be disbursed.

IDBI Bank has agreed to provide Rs 200-300 crore of the Rs 600-crore loan, while Bank of Baroda and LIC will lend the balance.

This will help the scam-hit Satyam meet its immediate expenses including payment of salaries to its employees, rentals for its office premises and payments to vendors, among other things.

Satyam is understood to have pledged a part of its huge land-bank in Hyderabad, estimated to be worth between Rs 1,500-Rs 1,700-crore as security to the lenders. 

Satyam's Board, after its two-day meeting which ended on Thursday, said it has received bank loan sanctions worth Rs 600 crore that would help it meet its immediate requirements.

The Board also said that Tata group veteran Homi Khusrokhan and chartered accountant Partho Datta have been brought on board as special advisers.

Hyderabad-based Satyam Computer plunged into crisis and its shares plummeted to historical lows after its former chairman B Ramalinga Raju admitted to cooking up numbers in the company's balance-sheet.