New Delhi: The ongoing forensic audit into the former promoters’ alleged dissipation of shares will not prevent IHH Healthcare from increasing its stake in Fortis, Managing Director, Dr Ashutosh Raghuvanshi said.
Speaking at the healthcare major’s second quarter earnings call, Fortis Management said its parent company, Malaysia-based, IHH Healthcare has expressed openly that it wants to increase its stake to above 50 per cent at the current market price.
IHH currently holds a 31.17 per cent stake in Fortis. Raising it to above 50 per cent will bring in an additional capital of approximately Rs 10,000 crore into Fortis over a period of time.
The management clarified that there is no legal restriction on IHH raising its holding in Fortis, as the Supreme Court ordered a forensic audit of the hospital chain, amid the ongoing legal battle between its former promoters and Daiichi Sankyo.
“What is in question is only what happened at the time of dissipation of shares by the ex-promoters. IHH has absolutely no issue in increasing its stake in Fortis, and the court doesn’t in any way suggest that. We have sought a lot of legal opinions from multiple sources, and there is no such constraint.” Dr Raghuvanshi said.
He added that any additional capital infusion would depend on Fortis’ funding requirements and IHH’s decision on the timing and quantum of investment.
And that Fortis was adequately capitalised to fund its current expansion plans through internal accruals and some debt, and would approach IHH for fresh capital when required.
Sharing an update on the audit procedure, Raghuvanshi said, “So as far as the forensic audit is concerned, the auditors have been appointed, and they have sent their requisition order for information to us. We have submitted the necessary information to them. Court had originally indicated that this audit should be completed in six months’ time, so we are looking forward to getting this behind us.”
