Malaysia’s IHH hits roadblock in buying Indian hospital group Fortis

Japanese drugmaker Daiichi Sankyo gets court to put deal on hold.

PETALING JAYA: Khazanah Nasional Bhd’s majority-owned IHH Healthcare’s planned purchase of Indian hospital group Fortis Healthcare has been blocked by a court order prompted by Japanese drugmaker Daiichi Sankyo’s protest, the Nikkei Asian Review (NAR) reported.

Kuala Lumpur-based IHH said last month it would acquire Fortis for up to US$1.1 billion (RM4.5 billion).

The plan was to acquire a majority stake through a combination of private placement and tender offer by the end of 2018.

Shortly after the announcement, Daiichi Sankyo filed with the Delhi High Court to block the deal.

The NAR report said Daiichi Sankyo took the action because Malvinder and Shivinder Singh, who founded Fortis, were ordered in January to pay 35 billion rupees (RM2.07 billion) in damages to the Japanese firm over the sale of Ranbaxy Laboratories, a generic drugmaker.

The brothers were found to have withheld critical information from Daiichi Sankyo when they sold their stakes in Ranbaxy in 2008.

With the payment yet to be made, the Japanese company is protesting the Fortis sale.

The latest court order could delay the timeline of the acquisition. -FMT