KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 12): IHH Healthcare Bhd's 31.1%-owned associate Fortis Healthcare Ltd has made requisite interventions before India's Supreme Court  as soon as the court passed the stay order on IHH's open offer to buy an additional 26% stake in Fortis, Mint reported on Sunday (Nov 10).

“Fortis has made extensive arguments before the Supreme Court of India, highlighting the impact of the stay order on the public shareholders of the company, as well as on Fortis itself," Mint quoted Fortis as saying in a statement.

Fortis said it is hopeful of a positive outcome on or before this Sunday (Nov 17). 

Fortis' statement to Mint was in response to Fortis' minority shareholders' demand that Fortis and IHH make efforts to vacate the Supreme Court stay 
order.

Mint, quoting three people familiar with the matter, reported that minority investors have asked Fortis about its action plan on the Rs3,400 crore offer, especially considering that Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi retires this Sunday (Nov 17).

“The open offer has been stuck in Supreme Court for nearly a year. We had written a letter to Fortis and Sebi (Securities and Exchange Board of India) in August. With the Supreme Court Chief Justice retiring this month, we are now hoping to get it done before that," one of the minority investors was quoted as saying on condition of anonymity.

Mint reported that in December last year, a three-judge bench headed by Gogoi had ordered a status quo on the sale of Fortis to IHH while hearing a petition by Japanese drugmaker Daiichi Sankyo. 

It was reported that another bench, which was also headed by Gogoi, reserved an order on the stay in April this year.

Mint said : "After a long bidding war, a binding offer by IHH to invest Rs4,000 crore in Fortis was unanimously accepted by the company’s board in July last year. Fortis was then severely cash-strapped, and IHH clinched the deal by outbidding a consortium of Manipal Health Enterprises and TPG Capital."

"IHH’s acquisition of 31% stake in Fortis triggered a mandatory open offer for an additional 26% stake worth Rs3,400 crore in the Indian company under Sebi regulations. The open offer price was set at Rs170 per share. However, soon after, Daiichi Sankyo approached the apex court seeking a stay on the open offer in a plea related to recovery of an arbitration amount from its former promoters," Mint reported.

Mint quoted Fortis as saying IHH has deposited the funds for the open offer in a non-interest bearing escrow account. It was reported that the money is being maintained without demur for the entire period of the stay order.

At the time of writing this theedgemarkets.com report today, IHH had not issued a statement in response to Fortis' minority shareholders' demand that Fortis and IHH make efforts to vacate the Supreme Court stay on the open offer.

At Bursa Malaysia today, IHH shares settled up one sen or 0.18% at RM5.45 at 12:30pm. IHH saw 2.37 million shares traded.