IHH Healthcare Bhd’s Singapore unit, Northern TK Venture (NTK), has taken steps to prevent Daiichi Sankyo Co Ltd from interfering with its acquisition of shares and other corporate actions in India’s Fortis Healthcare Ltd and its subsidiary Malar Hospitals Ltd. NTK claims Daiichi Sankyo has made defamatory statements to India’s capital market regulator and the public.
The move comes as NTK amends its ongoing injunctive claim against Daiichi Sankyo following IHH’s completion of its mandatory open offer for Fortis and Malar in November last year, according to a Bursa filing on Thursday. The original claim sought to stop Daiichi Sankyo from obstructing the open offer and spreading defamatory statements, while the near ¥200 billion (RM5.7 billion) claim for losses remains unchanged.
The dispute traces back to Daiichi Sankyo blocking the offer since 2018 amid a separate legal case involving Fortis founders Malvinder Singh and Shivinder Singh over a decade-old acquisition of Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd. The Japanese pharmaceutical company had previously obtained a court order to maintain the status quo at Fortis pending that dispute.
India’s Securities and Exchange Board approved the open offer in October 2025. The offer, which allowed acquisition of up to an additional 26% stake in both Fortis and Malar, closed in November with minimal response: only 778 Fortis shares (0.0002%) and 4,523 Malar shares (0.02%) were tendered.
The mandatory open offer followed IHH’s initial 2018 investment as a white knight, subscribing RM2.4 billion for a 31.1% stake in Fortis. Fortis holds 62.4% of Malar, which operates healthcare facilities in Chennai, southern India.
IHH shares rose nine sen or 1.02% to RM8.91 on Thursday, giving the group a market valuation of RM78.73 billion.
