Manipal Health Enterprises (MHE) moved the Delhi High Court seeking to restrain the Emami Group from selling or transferring its 94% stake in the latter’s healthcare business, AMRI Hospitals, to any third party or alter its management during the pendency of the arbitration proceedings.
It also sought direction to the Emami Group to complete the proposed Rs 1,800-crore deal.
Justice Yashwant Verma asked Kolkata-based AMRI Hospitals and 32 others, including Emami Ltd founder and chairman Emeritus Radheshyam Agarwal to respond to MHE’s petition and posted the matter for further hearing on December 7.
While MHE asked the HC to appoint an arbitrator to resolve the dispute, AMRI’s opposed it saying there is “no agreement” between them.
MHE told the HC that AMRI should be restrained from selling or transferring or creating third-party rights with regard to its 94% stake (6,01,44,288 equity shares and 1000 Compulsory Convertible Debentures) which was the subject matter of the June 3 purchase agreement executed between them.
Registered shareholders and promoter lenders, who had executed the agreement, have also been arrayed as respondents in the case.
The petition filed by counsel Rishi Agarwala on behalf of MHE said that the Emami group with “malafide intent demanded more money” than what had been agreed upon and was now negotiating with others for the stake sale.
The deal allegedly fell through due to some pending paperwork of AMRI related to the properties, for which clearance was to come in from the West Bengal government.
Senior counsel Kapil Sibal, appearing for AMRI, said that there was no agreement between the parties and since it was a contingency contract subject to certain conditions like clearance from the state government, which was not received, the hospital was “not bound” to go ahead with the “void” transaction.
He assured the court that nothing will happen till the next date of the hearing.
