Engineering and construction major Larsen & Toubro Ltd, utility vehicle maker Mahindra and Mahindra and Spice Corporation remained in the race for a 51 per cent stake in fraud-hit information technology major Satyam Computer Services as the deadline for submission of expressions of interest expired at 5 pm today.

L&T Infotech and Tech Mahindra, the technology outfits of engineering and construction major Larsen and Toubro, utility vehicle maker Mahindra and Mahindra and telecom software maker Spice Corporation have sent letters of intent to participate in the bidding process for Satyam Computer Services Ltd while HCL Tech and the Hindujas have chosen to stay out of the bid process.

"Once the company receive the RFP (request for proposal) it will evaluate and conclude on next step," Tech Mahindra said in a statement.

L&T is currently the largest single shareholder in Satyam.

Satyam, which is in the midst of a Rs7,000-crore corporate fraud, has invited expressions of interests from the potential bidders after its government-nominated board got regulatory approval from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) approval to sell 51 per cent stake to a strategic investor.

The board of Satyam Computers will meet later today to select a potential bidder after registrations for potential bidders closed at 5 pm today.
Registering expressions of interest does not necessarily mean that the company would appear in the final bidding process.

The official deadline to submit the bid and proof of adequate funds is March 20.

After the EoIs, the companies will have to submit requests for proposal (RFP) together with detailed EoIs and proof of availability of funds of at least Rs1,500 crore ($290 million) by 5:00 pm on 20 March 2009.
 
Eligible bidders will then be short-listed and given access to certain business, financial and legal diligence materials relating to the company, provided they have executed a non-disclosure and non-solicitation agreement, a stand-still agreement and a 'no-claims' undertaking. After completion of the due diligence process and execution of the pre-financial bid documents, all short-listed bidders will be asked to submit their financial bids and an executed copy of the share subscription agreement.

Based on the evaluation of bids, the Satyam board will induct a strategic investor to take management control of the firm. 

Satyam has been in turmoil since founder B. Ramalinga Raju confessed on January 7 that he overstated the company's profits over several years and created a fictitious cash balances of more than Rs 7,000 crore.