Bharat Desai Sued by France’s Atos Over $3.4 Billion Syntel Deal

French tech giant Atos SE sued U.S. billionaire Bharat Desai in Delaware, claiming he inflated the price of Syntel Inc. before its $3.4 billion sale—in which he personally made $1.3 billion—by downplaying ongoing litigation that later led to a $570 million verdict against Syntel.

The lawsuit, made public July 23 in Delaware Chancery Court, accuses Desai of using “innocuous and vague” pre-deal disclosures to minimize the risk posed by the “long-running and far-reaching” trade secrets case, despite having extensive knowledge of Syntel’s “enormous potential liability.”

Desai also allegedly directed his subordinates at Syntel to deflect inquiries about the case and ...