IHH Healthcare arm increases damages sought from Daiichi Sankyo to ₹11,800 crore over Fortis stake dispute

IHH Healthcare’s indirect subsidiary Northern TK Venture Pte Ltd (NTK) has increased its damages claim against Japanese pharma company Daiichi Sankyo Co. about tenfold to ₹11,800 crore or $1.38 billion, over its obstructed open offer for Fortis Healthcare in 2018. 

NTK has filed an application with the Tokyo District Court to amend its ongoing claim for damages against Daiichi Sankyo, it said on Tuesday. 

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NTK filed a claim in October 2023, seeking damages of 20 billion yen from Daiichi Sankyo for allegedly obstructing its efforts to complete its open offers to acquire shares in Indian hospital chain Fortis Healthcare and its subsidiary Fortis Malar Hospitals. 

In February 2025, it increased the damages sought based on an expert report prepared by Osborn Partners, to assess and quantify the losses suffered by NTK upon the interference with its open offer. 

In February, it submitted a brief to the Tokyo District Court based on the report, seeking compensation between ₹424 crore and ₹10,930 crore.

IHH acquired a 31% stake in Fortis Healthcare through NTK in 2018. Under Indian law, this triggered a mandatory open offer for Fortis’ public shareholders. Daiichi Sankyo obstructed this in December 2018, when it obtained an ex parte interim status quo order from the Supreme Court, halting the open offer. 

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Daiichi Sankyo had been engaged in a separate dispute with the Singh Brothers, the former promoters of Ranbaxy Laboratories and Fortis. IHH and NTK have maintained that they have no connection with the Singh Brothers.

In September 2022, the Supreme Court lifted the interim status quo order. However, NTK alleged that Daiichi Sankyo threatened regulatory action to prevent the open offer from proceeding. 

The non-interest-bearing deposits required for implementing the open offer amounted to approximately 60.2 billion yen at the exchange rate at the time of filing the lawsuit. 

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NTK’s position is that this deposit was frozen for an extended period due to Daiichi Sankyo's actions. It additionally suffered losses in the form of rising Fortis stock prices and dividends declared by the hospital chain that it would have earned through increased shareholding.