Satyam drops $1.6 billion buy deal with Maytas

India’s Satyam Computer Services Ltd (SATY.BO) bowed to investor pressure and canceled plans to spend $1.6 billion to buy two builders, killing the deals just 12 hours after they were announced.

The quick change in plans, which was announced late on Tuesday, came after investors demonstrated their opposition to the deals by pushing shares in India’s No. 4 software services company down 55 percent in New York Stock Exchange trade.

Tuesday’s unusual turn of events began after the close of India’s stock markets when Satyam said it planned to enter the depressed construction industry by buying all of privately held Maytas Properties for $1.3 billion and 51 percent of builder Maytas Infra (MAIL.BO) for $300 million.