6 months jail to Singh brothers In Daiichi-Fortis Case, SC refuses to lift stay on Fortis-IHH open offer

Daiichi challenged IHH's proposed acquisition of Fortis in an effort to hold the Fortis founders accountable for an arbitration award of Rs 3,600 crore (USD 500 million) resulting from a fraud claim.

The erstwhile Ranbaxy promoters Malvinder Singh and Shivinder Singh were accused of concealing information regarding wrongdoing at Ranbaxy when they sold a majority stake in the company to the Japanese firm Daiichi Sankyo in 2008. The Singapore tribunal had in 2016 awarded Daiichi Rs 3,600 crore in damages.

Daiichi had filed a petition against the Singh brothers and Indiabulls, alleging that both parties had pledged 1.7 million shares of Fortis Healthcare, which was held by Fortis Healthcare Holding, despite the apex court forbidding it. The deal between Fortis and IHH was signed in August 2018. In December 2018, the SC had stayed the IIH open offer.

Also Read: Held Guilty Of Contempt In Stake Sale To IHH, Fortis Healthcare Exploring Legal Options

Meanwhile, Fortis in a statement said, "We understand that the proceedings before the Hon'ble Supreme Court have concluded with certain directions and the suo-motu contempt has been disposed-off. We will go by the directions of the Hon'ble Supreme Court and will be seeking legal advice regarding our future course of action."

"We remain committed to our core purpose of patient care and will continue to focus on our strategic and operational objectives to further strengthen and expand our healthcare network. We will keep all our stakeholders informed, as required," it added.