IHH Healthcare denies FORTIS stake purchase, shares tank

New Delhi: Shares of Fortis healthcare were seen going for a free fall in the stock market, after the media reports came out that IHH Healthcare, the company which was earlier speculated to have been in advanced talks with the Singh brothers, Malvinder and Shivinder, to acquire controlling stake in Fortis Healthcare and SRL Diagnostics, has pulled out of the talks.

Confirmation to this effect was made by the Malaysias healthcare services provider IHH Healthcare Berhad today when it announced that it is not close to "concluding any negotiations" to buy controlling stake in Fortis Healthcare. The company, however, maintained that it is constantly evaluating growth opportunities in select geographies in Asia including India, which is its fourth "home market".

"IHH is not, nor is it close to, concluding any negotiations or due diligence or transactions in India at this point in time," IHH Healthcare Berhad said in a filing to Bursa Malaysia.

Fortis Healthcare, which has already got shareholders nod to raise up to Rs 5,000 crore, has maintained that it was still evaluating the best possible way to raise the funds and no firm decision has been approved by the board till date. "The board of the company had approved the enabling fund raising options up to Rs 5,000 crore including but not limited to qualified institutional placement, foreign currency convertible bonds or any other method...," Fortis Healthcare had said in a BSE filing earlier this month.

The Singh brothers have been looking to raise fund to repay debt in RHC Holding. In March this year, IHH had sold over 6 per cent stake in Indias healthcare major Apollo Hospitals for about Rs 1,070 crore through an open market transaction. The Malaysian healthcare major runs chain of hospitals under Mount Elizabeth, Gleneagles, Pantai, Parkway and Acibadem brands in Asia and Central and Eastern Europe

The Delhi high court on Wednesday cleared the way for former Ranbaxy promoters Malvinder and Shivinder Singh to potentially sell a stake in Fortis Healthcare Ltd on the condition that the disclosed value of their unencumbered assets will remain unaffected. The Delhi High Court further ordered former Ranbaxy promoters Malvinder and Shivinder Singh to maintain the value of unpledged assets that are being considered as part of an arbitration award enforcement case against them.

The order was passed to afford protection to Japanese drugmaker Daiichi Sankyo Ltd in terms of ready realizable value of assets at a later stage reports ET.