Malaysia’s IHH Healthcare has started discussions with Indian authorities, including Sebi, to finalise its open offer for Fortis Healthcare, the Economic Times said on October 13. The next step is to increase its 26.1% stake in the company.

Last month, the Supreme Court ordered a forensic audit of the execution of the Fortis sale of shares to IHH Healthcare in 2018, a contempt case brought by Japan’s Daiichi Sankyo against Fortis, the Singer brothers Malvinder and Shivinder and others.

At present, IHH is the largest shareholder of Fortis, holding 31.1% of the shares. It has spent and earmarked Rs 7,000 crore for the acquisition, including an escrow amount reserved pending court approval.

The IHH-Fortis deal has stalled over a legal dispute between Daiichi and Fortis’ former promoters. Daiichi has been seeking enforcement of a foreign arbitration award made in Singapore on April 29, 2016, for Rs 3,600 crore.

The former promoters of Fortis have been facing lawsuits after Daiichi challenged the Fortis-IHH stock deal to recover an arbitration award.

In December 2018, the Supreme Court upheld the status quo, with former Ranbaxy promoters and hospital operators Malvinder and Shivinder selling a controlling stake in Fortis to IHH.

The Supreme Court’s order has put on hold IHH’s public offer for an additional 26.1% stake in Fortis, which was scheduled to begin on December 18 and end on January 1, 2019, for a total of Rs 3,300 crore.