Hyderabad, Feb 4 (IANS) The government-appointed directors of fraud-hit Satyam Computer Services Wednesday extended its meeting by a day.The board, which is meeting for the fifth time in three weeks, will continue its meeting Thursday. A spokesperson of Satyam said the company would release a statement after the meeting concludes Thursday.

The meeting is expected to appoint a new chief executive and decide on the strategic investor or outright buyer for the headless and cash-starved company following the Rs.70-billion (Rs.7,000 crore/$1.43-billion) accounting fraud by its founder B. Ramalinga Raju.

All the six directors are attending the meeting, which is being held against the backdrop of reports that several major companies were exploring the option of taking over the company, the country’s fourth largest software exporter.

The six new directors said after their last meeting Jan 27 that the fraud-hit firm had received several proposals from corporate entities and private equity (PE) firms to evaluate it as an integrated company. They also said the company will not be sold in parts.

The board meeting is also likely to discuss suitors after the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) said norms for open offers are likely to be relaxed to make acquisition of of controlling stakes easier.

The proposed relaxations assume significance in the light of Larsen and Toubro increasing its stake from four percent to a little over 12 percent in Satyam.

The board, which has already shortlisted three candidates for the posts of chief executive and chief financial officer, is likely to announce the names for the top posts.

The company has paid the January salary to employees.

There is a dispute over the number of employees with the Andhra Pradesh police contesting the figure of around 53,000 given by Raju. The new board has also said the number of employees stood at over 50,000.