KUALA LUMPUR: IHH Healthcare Bhd
said it suffered losses due to delays in obtaining the required mandatory tender offer (MTO) approvals for its acquisition of Fortis Healthcare amid a dispute between Japanese pharmaceutical company Daiichi Sankyo Co Ltd and its "judgment debtors.”
IHH said it was an unrelated party to the dispute and maintained that its acquisition of Fortis in 2018 was conducted through a transparent, widely publicised and fully regulated process.
"The transaction received all necessary corporate, shareholder and regulatory approvals, including from the Competition Commission of India (CCI) and under the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) takeover regulations,” it said in a statement today.
It said the investment was made through a preferential allotment of newly issued shares worth INR4,000 crore and a mandatory tender offer to public shareholders, with no secondary shares acquired from the former promoters and no payments made to them.
IHH said its investment in Fortis came at a time when the company required recapitalisation and strategic direction, adding that Fortis has since strengthened its clinical, governance and operational standards.
"We take pride in contributing to the advancement of healthcare in India through sustained investment, responsible stewardship and a strong commitment to patient care and governance excellence. We were also pleased that the long-pending mandatory tender offer process received the necessary approvals last year, marking another important milestone in the successful completion of the Fortis acquisition,” it said, adding that India remains a key strategic market for IHH and that the group is committed to increasing its investment in the country.
It was reported yesterday that the Tokyo District Court dismissed all claims brought by IHH’s indirect wholly owned subsidiary Northern TK Venture Pte Ltd (NTK) against Daiichi Sankyo and ordered NTK to bear the litigation costs. The subsidiary was seeking compensation of up to 109.3 billion Indian rupees (RM5.7 billion) from Daiichi Sankyo over its investment in India’s Fortis Healthcare Ltd.
NTK filed a claim in October 2023, alleging that the Japanese drugmaker had caused it losses by preventing it from proceeding with open offers to acquire additional shares in the Indian hospital chain in 2018. - Bernama
