The Supreme Court has lifted the stay on sale of pledged shares of Fortis Healthcare Limited held by financial institutions. The apex court passed this order while hearing an appeal of Japanese pharma giant Daiichi Sankyo, which is seeking to enforce the Rs 3,500-crore arbitral award it won against the promoters Malvinder Singh and Shivinder Singh for concealing information while selling the Ranbaxy Laboratories.
The apex court said that the shares of Fortis Healthcare Limited encumbered by Fortis Healthcare Holding Pvt Ltd (FHHPL) with the financial institutions can be sold, traded or transferred. “We clarify our interim orders dated August 11, 2017 and August 31, 2017 to mean that the status-quo granted shall not apply to shares of Fortis Healthcare Limited held by Fortis Healthcare Holding Pvt Ltd, as may have been encumbered on or before the interim orders of this Court dated August 11, 2017 and August 31, 2017,” the bench hearing the case said.
The Supreme Court had in September last year restrained the Singh brothers and banks from disposing off any of their assets both encumbered and unencumbered until the final disposal of the case. FHHPL, owned by the Singh brothers, had 38.65 per cent stake in Fortis Healthcare Limited and 36.58 per cent was pledged to financial institutions as of August 4 last year.
The Singhs pledged shares worth Rs 1,580 crore and Rs 390 crore with YES Bank and Axis Bank, respectively, the two major lenders. It is reported that the Singh brother are trying to finalise the sale of their stake in Fortis Healthcare and a stay in the sale of pledged share had become a major hurdle.
The brothers had resigned from the posts of executive chairman and non-executive vice-chairman of Fortis Healthcare, respectively, on February 8 while on February 9 it was reported that the Singhs had taken out Rs 500 crore from the company without the board’s approval. Later, the company clarified it had given an internal ‘loan’ of Rs Rs 473 crore to the Singhs.
Billionaire Singh brothers, Malvinder and Shivinder, former promoters of pharmaceutical major Ranbaxy Laboratories are owners of substantial stakes in Fortis Healthcare and Religare.
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