What isn't clear, though, is just how much of Satyam is left to take control of in the wake of now-former Chairman B. Ramalinga Raju's Enron-like revelation in January that the company's for several years.

In agreeing to , Tech Mahindra, a telecommunications-oriented systems integrator and services provider with just under US$1 billion in annual revenue, is looking to vault itself into the big leagues of offshore IT services. The deal would adding about 48,000 Satyam employees to Tech Mahindra's current workforce of 25,000 people.

But analysts say that Satyam has since the disclosure of the fraudulent accounting scheme. Moreover, they say, it's losing good employees to rival vendors. That's a lot for Tech Mahindra to fix, especially since it also will have to integrate two very different organizations: its own telecom-focused operations and Satyam's more diversified IT business, which is especially oriented toward ERP-related services.

Tech Mahindra was formed more than 20 years ago as a joint venture between U.K.-based telecom operator BT Group PLC and Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., which is part of a conglomerate in India that manufactures automotive and farm equipment. Under the terms of the deal with Satyam, Tech Mahindra will pay about $354 million for a 31% ownership stake in the outsourcer and launch a public tender offer to acquire at least another 20% of its shares.

Satyam once was a $2 billion company in terms of annual revenue. But Gartner Inc. analyst Frances Karamouzis said that based on interactions with clients, the consulting firm estimates that Satyam's revenue run-rate now may be less than $1 billion. She added that Satyam also faces potential legal liabilities from ongoing lawsuits, including on behalf of investors here.