सुप्रीम कोर्ट ने फोर्टिस हेल्थकेयर पर फॉरेंसिक ऑडिट को मंजूरी दी

KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 28): The Supreme Court of India has allowed a forensic audit of IHH Healthcare Bhd’s (KL:IHH) Fortis Healthcare Ltd to proceed after disposing of the hospital operator’s special leave petition (SLP) challenging a Delhi High Court order in the matter involving Daiichi Sankyo Co Ltd and Malvinder Mohan Singh and others.

IHH said in a filing with the bourse on Monday that the Supreme Court’s order dated Sept 25 disposed of Fortis’ SLP challenging the Delhi High Court’s Aug 31 judgement.

The petition had challenged, among other things, the direction for a forensic audit of Fortis and certain observations made in the judgement concerning the company.

IHH said the Supreme Court clarified that the observations in the Delhi High Court judgement challenged by Fortis were “tentative and only for the purpose of making out a case for forensic audit”. It also said the forensic audit must be conducted independently and without being influenced by those observations.

IHH, in a statement, maintained that its subsidiary, Northern TK Venture Pte Ltd (NTK), acquired its 31% stake in Fortis in 2018 through a transparent, widely public and fully regulated competitive bidding process.

The deal involved a preferential allotment of newly issued Fortis shares for INR40 billion (RM1.9 billion) and a mandatory tender offer to public shareholders.

It said no secondary shares were acquired from Fortis’ former promoters, Malvinder Mohan Singh and Shivinder Mohan Singh, otherwise known as the Singh brothers, and no payments were made to them.

IHH said the transaction received the necessary corporate, shareholder and regulatory approvals, including those from the Competition Commission of India and under Securities and Exchange Board of India takeover regulations.

It added that IHH was not a party to the dispute or execution proceedings between Daiichi Sankyo and the Singh brothers.

IHH said it will fully cooperate with the forensic audit.

The group reiterated its plan to increase its stake in Fortis to 51% over the next three to five years, integrate its Fortis and Gleneagles platforms, and expand its capacity to about 10,000 beds by 2031.

The dispute between Daiichi Sankyo and the Singh brothers dates back to 2008, when Daiichi acquired Ranbaxy Laboratories from the brothers. Daiichi later alleged that the brothers had withheld information about regulatory issues at Ranbaxy.

In 2016, a Singapore arbitration tribunal ordered the Singh brothers to pay Daiichi about INR25.62 billion in damages, plus interest. Daiichi subsequently sought to enforce the award in India.

The dispute later extended to Fortis Healthcare, which was controlled by the Singh brothers. In 2018, IHH Healthcare stepped in as a white knight, acquiring a controlling stake in Fortis through NTK and triggering a mandatory open offer. The offer was delayed for several years due to legal proceedings.

India’s Securities and Exchange Board eventually approved the offer last year, increasing IHH’s stake in Fortis to 31.17% from 31.1%.

The delays led NTK to file a ¥200 billion (about RM5.3 billion) damages claim against Daiichi Sankyo, which was dismissed by the Tokyo District Court on Sept 10. It has since filed an appeal with the Tokyo High Court.

IHH’s shares closed almost flat at RM8.01 a share, valuing the group at RM70.78 billion on Monday.

Edited ByPresenna Nambiar

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