New Delhi: Religare Enterprises Ltd, promoted by brothers Shivinder Singh and Malvinder Singh, told on Wednesday the Delhi high court that the sale of its health insurance business is unlikely to happen this year.
The court, which is hearing Singh brothers’ petition against an arbitration award in favour of Japan’s Daiichi Sankyo, had barred the sale of any assets without its knowledge. When Religare said it plans to sell 80% in its insurance business to a group of investors led by True North, Daiichi complained this would violate the court’s order, following which the court sought a timeline of the sale plan.
On Wednesday, Religare said it is awaiting a nod from the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irda) for the sale of Religare Health Insurance Co. Ltd. A meeting with Irda officials in this regard, it said, is likely to take place in November.
On 21 September, the court had asked the Singh brothers and their two companies— RHC Holding Pvt. Ltd and Oscar Investments Ltd—to disclose the timeline for the sale of its health insurance arm to a group of investors led by private equity firm True North.
The Singh brothers have been repeatedly asked by the court to disclose the value of the unencumbered shareholding they have in various entities.
The brothers in 2008 sold Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd to Daiichi Sankyo for $4.6 billion. The Japanese company later filed and won a Rs2,562 crore arbitral award in Singapore, on charges that the Singh brothers had concealed crucial information while selling Ranbaxy. Daiichi has since sold the company to Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd.
Daiichi Sankyo was permitted by the court on 20 March to inspect documents submitted by the Singh brothers including copies of several affidavits by the brothers and the reports of the chartered accountants of RHC Holding Pvt. Ltd, a firm in which the brothers have significant shareholding, and its subsidiary companies. Subsequently, Daiichi sought the appointment of a third-party auditor to assist in the inspection process.