Sify Technologies says it has raised $57, million from a stake sale to Infinity Satcom Universal Private Limited at $4.46 per share. Sify is among the largest internet, network and e-commerce services providers in India.

Infinity Satcom is controlled by Ananda Raju Vegesna, an executive director of Sify Technologies Limited, and brother Sify's managing director and CEO Raju Vegesna.

The share purchase by Infinity Satcom Universal Private Limited was approved by Sify's shareholders at the company's extraordinary general meeting on 17 March.

Sify says it sold the shares to Infinity Starcom in an offshore transaction, and no selling efforts were made in the United States. The shares issued in the unregistered sale will not be registered under the Securities Act, or any state securities laws, and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from the registration requirements of the Securities Act.

This means the shares sold to infinity will not be registered in the United States and nor will they be traded in the US as American depositary shares.

The company says its board of directors also approved a waiver of certain provisions of the 'standstill agreement' on 10 February between the company, Infinity Capital Ventures LP and Raju Vegesna, dated 10 November 2005 filed on Form 6-K on 21 November 2005.

''At the request of Infinity Capital Ventures, the board waived the provision of the standstill agreement prohibiting Infinity Capital Ventures and Raju Vegesna from acquiring additional shares of the company,'' Sify said in a release.

It added that both Raju Vegesna and Ananda Raju Vegesna abstained from voting on the waiver.

On 1 February Sify's board also approved the merger of Sify's majority owned subsidiary with itself. The merger was approved by the company's shareholders at the meeting convened by the High Court of Madras on 17 March and  expects the court to ratify the merger by July

''On approval by the High Court, the merger shall have retrospective effect from April 1, 2007,'' the release stated.