NEW DELHI: Malaysian hospital group IHH Healthcare Berhad, which won the bidding round for Fortis Healthcare in July this year, will have to wait to complete the acquisition process as Supreme Court on Friday ordered a status quo on the Rs 4,000 crore sale of the healthcare chain.
The decision was reportedly passed by a three-judge bench headed by Justice Ranjan Gogoi during the hearing of a petition filed by Japanese drugmaker Daiichi Sankyo. Daiichi had alleged that former Fortis promoters Malvdinder Singh and Shivinder Singh violated undertakings and court orders. The company argued that Singh brothers created encumbrances on 12 lakh shares of Fortis Healthcare, in violation of Supreme Court orders.
The top court had in February allowed banks and financial institutions to sell shares of Fortis pledged with them on or before August 31 by the Singh brothers, had directed that no fresh encumbrances be created by the Singh brothers and others, and directed maintenance of a status quo.
It is reported that Supreme Court, while putting the sale on hold, issued notices to Singh brothers and Fortis Healthcare. The court also issued notices to Indiabulls Housing Finance Ltd and their holding companies, on Daiichi plea.In July this year, the board of Fortis Healthcare had approved a Rs 4,000 crore offer from IHH Healthcare for buying 31.1 per cent stake in it. Soon after the sale was announced, Daiichi Sankyo filed a petition in the Delhi High Court seeking to block the deal, while it enforced an arbitration award against the former promoters, the Singh brothers.
Post the court order on Friday, Fortis’ shares fell as much as 14.28 per cent to touch an intraday low of Rs 130.20 apiece on BSE. The scrip closed at Rs 141.65, down 6.75 per cent. Fortis Healthcare informed the BSE that it is yet to receive the receipt of this order. “We would like to inform that the company was not a party to these judicial proceedings. We are awaiting the receipt of this order, and up on consideration of the same, we shall respond appropriately, in accordance with applicable law,” Fortis said in a statement.