Satyam Infowayfiles ADS paper

WASHINGTON, FEB 4: Satyam Infoway Ltd (SIFY), an Indian Internet firm, filed on Thursday with US securities regulators to sell three million American Depository Shares. The company said it would use the net proceeds, about $ 123.3 million, to acquire the remaining 75.5% of outstanding shares of IndiaWorld Communications as well as to fund network infrastructure expansion, advertising and general corporate purposes. After the offering, there will be about 22.2 million ADSs outstanding in the company, according to the prospectus filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

Each ADS of Satyam Infoway represents one-fourth of one equity share. The underwriters, Merrill Lynch and Salomon Smith Barney, have been granted the option to purchase an extra 450,000 ADSs in the event of heavy demand.

Meanwhile, an investment proposal of software firm Satyam Computer Services cleared by the Government on Friday pertained to allotment of stock options to its foreign employees, a company official said onFriday.

The industry ministry approved a clutch of proposals on Thursday including one by Satyam Computer worth Rs 72.8 million to increase its foreign equity to 40% from 27.05%. "We had made an application to the government in November for permission to allot shares to foreign citizens who are our employees under the employee stock option scheme of the company," vice-president (finance) V Srinivas said.