Tech Mahindra, part of Indian business group Mahindra & Mahindra, won the race to acquire Satyam Computer Services on Monday, in a deal that’ll help the mid-sized outsourcer gain in size and also lift clarity on Satyam’s fate.

In a race that saw only a handful of bidders, Tech Mahindra beat rivals such as engineering conglomerate Larsen & Toubro and U.S.-listed Cognizant Technologies. Tech Mahindra agreed to buy a 31 percent stake in Satyam at 58 rupees, a 23 percent premium to Satyam’s last closing price.

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Tech Mahindra, established more than 20 years ago as a joint venture between Mahindra & Mahindra and British Telecom, faces the daunting task of reshaping Satyam, a company at the heart of India’s biggest corporate scandal.

Ever since Satyam’s founder Ramalinga Raju shocked markets by disclosing the $1 billion-plus fraud, there have been numerous reports of Satyam’s employees jumping ship and some clients cutting back on orders to Satyam.  The company’s accounts are also still being restated and its U.S. liabilities are unclear.

Will the government continue to keep a close eye on Satyam? What’s going to be the fate of Satyam’s employees and clients? Will the Tech Mahindra-Satyam combination be able to grab market share from leaders Tata Consultancy, Infosys Technologies and Wipro? These are issues for which Tech Mahindra will need some answers pretty soon.

(Photo: Satyam Computer Services Chairman Kiran Karnik (2nd L) and board members Deepak Parekh (2nd R), Tarun Das (L) and T. N. Manoharan attend a news conference held by Satyam board members in Mumbai April 13, 2009. REUTERS/Arko Datta)

If a stock dives 55 percent, is it time to go bargain hunting?

Absolutely not! At least that was the case with India’s Satyam Computer Services after it shocked investors on Wednesday by disclosing most of its profits were cooked up.

The disclosure came after the company’s botched attempt last month to buy two construction firms partly owned by its founders, which sent its shares diving 55 percent in one session by angry investors.

Chairman Ramalinga Raju said: “It was like riding a tiger, not knowing how to get off without being eaten.”

The shares tumbled nearly 80 percent, roiling investor confidence in India and bringing an undignified end to the illustrious career of one of the country’s top businessmen.

The accounting fraud which analysts instantly dubbed as “India’s Enron”, battered confidence in Indian companies and cast a shadow on the once-booming outsourcing industry.

The biggest Indian corporate scandal in memory threatens future foreign investment flows into Asia’s third-largest economy, already facing slowdown pangs.

The scandal rakes up a number of issues not to mention how profits could have been inflated for several years without anyone noticing. Knock Knock. Independent directors? Anyone listening?

And all this from a company which won an award for corporate governance just three months ago.

Any answers?

TIMELINE

(Please ignore the analyst recommendation for Satyam currently running on the Reuters site. Preliminary investigations suggest there seems to be a technical glitch. We are looking into it)