Fortis Healthcare's Malvinder, Shivinder Singh step down

New Delhi: Promoters of Fortis Healthcare, Malvinder Singh and Shivinder Singh tendered their resignation from the company’s Board of Directors, effective immediately.

In a letter, the Singh brothers attributed their decision to the recent High Court judgment that was passed, upholding the plea of Daiichi Sankyo, a Japanese pharma, who was slated to collect Rs 3,500 crore as award money from the duo.

“In light of the recent High Court judgment, upholding the plea of Daiichi Sankyo to enforce the arbitration award, we believe this is in the interest of propriety and good governance. It is intended to free the organisation from any encumbrance whatsoever that may be linked to the promoters. The Board will then be better enabled and empowered to guide the future direction of the organisation without in any way being hampered by the impact of the Daiichi Sankyo judgment and our association at the Board,” the letter read.

The duo further directed the board to examine all inter-group transactions and distance the promoter group from Fortis Healthcare Ltd “in a manner that enables continuity of operations of the organisation and deliver on its mission of enriching and saving lives”.

In August last year, the Supreme Court had restrained the Singh brothers from diluting any stake in the Fortis Healthcare.

As per reports, the Japanese company had opposed the sale of an 80 per cent stake in the Religare Health Insurance Co. Ltd. to a group of investors led by private equity firm True North and submitted that Singh brothers had violated a prior order requiring them to take court permission to part with tangential assets.

On a related note, the board of directors will take up the matter of the duo’s resignation in a meeting on February 13.