Thaindian News

Bangalore, March 24 (IANS) Outgoing MindTree executive chairman Ashok Soota late Thursday clarified that he had no immediate plans to divest his 11.57 percent stake in the company.

“I have no immediate plans for the divestment of my stake in MindTree. I will, in due course of time, divest my stake in a manner which will not jeopardise MindTree. The proceeds of the divestment will be used towards funding my new NGO and the new business venture which I will soon announce,” Soota said in a statement here.

Soota, who resigned Jan 28 from the company on personal grounds, co-founded MindTree in 1999 after quitting IT bellwether Wipro Ltd in a senior executive position. His resignation comes into effect March 31.

As a co-promoter, Soota holds 4,391,637 shares in his individual capacity.

“The decision to resign was for personal reasons. It is something I have thought about for a few months and arrived at a well-considered conclusion. I will finalise and announce my plans for a new business venture soon after my departure from the company,” Soota said in a statement then.

MindTree chief executive Krishnakumar Natarajan said Soota’s resignation had led to speculation on the sale of his stake, his future plans and impact, if any, on the company.

“This statement is jointly issued to set at rest the speculation on these matters,” Natarajan said in the statement.

Noting that the company had built strong capabilities and excellent customer relationships, Natarajan hoped Soota’s proposed start-up would have no material impact on MindTree’s business.

“We are confident that if Soota enters into areas competing with MindTree and some of our employees are to join him, the start-up operation would have no material impact on our business,” Natarajan added.