The Supreme Court on Thursday disposed off Japanese drugmaker Daiichi Sankyo‘s plea in the Fortis Healthcare case. The SC has referred back the matter to the Delhi High Court and ordered a continuation of the stay imposed on IHH‘s open offer.
In a stock exchange filing, Fortis Healthcare said “SC has concluded hearings with certain directions and that the suo-motu contempt has been disposed-off. We are now seeking legal advice to decide its future course of action.”
Shares of Fortis Healthcare tumbled about 16% in the morning session after the SC ordered a forensic audit for its share sale to Malaysia‘s IHH Healthcare.
The SC in its order said that the Delhi HC will decide on the open offer, proposed by IHH Healthcare.
The Japanese drug maker had challenged the Fortis-IHH deal to recover the Rs 3,600 crore arbitration award it had won in a Singapore tribunal against Fortis’ erstwhile promoters.
Malaysia’s IHH Healthcare had acquired a 31 per cent controlling stake in Fortis in 2018, which triggered a mandatory open offer to acquire another 26 per cent of the hospital chain shares from the market. It acquired the stake in Fortis Healthcare in August 2018 by paying $1.1 billion in a bidding process overseen by an independent board.
The open offer, however, could not move forward due to ongoing legal proceedings concerning the transaction based on a plea filed by Daiichi Sankyo.
Daiichi Sankyo had moved the plea against the Singh brothers and Indiabulls alleging that the two had pledged 1.7 million shares of Fortis Healthcare held by Fortis Healthcare Holding, despite the apex court forbidding it.