Whither goest Silverline?

BANAGALORE: Silverline Technologies has posted a

watershed second half results with a loss of Rs 6.5 crore. This has not aided

its listing on NYSE, which is already underwater, below $1 mark and is facing

de-listing by the bourse.

Its newly appointed CEO Dr Nirmal Jain has quit, thereby upsetting  its

six-month old management restructuring exercise.

Another Tsunami to hit the beleaguered company is the possible attachment of

its assets by Punjab National Bank. This makes Silverline the first IT company

to be brought under the new Securitization and Reconstruction of Financial

Assets and Enforcement of Security Act. PNB has served a 60-day notice.

In a bid to escape from this financial mess, Silverline has decided to sell

off its customers to other companies. Recently,

Cognizant Technologies acquired Silverline’s customer American Express Travel

Related Services Co. Now, I-flex is finalizing a plan to buy two of the

beleaguered company’s financial clients.

The twist in the tale is offered by what the sources in Cognizant and I-flex

revealed to CIOL. According to them, it was the customers who wanted to move

over to Cognizant and I-flex. According to Cognizant sources, "American

Express has a few other businesses handled by Cognizant and this  prompted

the shift. This was a move initiated by the customer."  

Senior officials at Silverline were not available for comments after repeated

attempts by CIOL to elicit response on these events. The spokesperson when

contacted declined to comment. As much as one may argue that these are coincidental, for a company which is

finding itself attacked from several fronts these events are magnified in the

eyes of future clientele as serious aberrations.

In December 2002, Silverline announced that it would strive to

"cure" its trading price on NYSE before the stipulated six-month

period. And just as it was heaving a sigh of relief India’s Punjab National

Bank threatened to invoke the Securitization Act against it.