The Supreme Court today allowed leading Japanese pharma firm Daiichi Sankyo to go ahead with the public offer for an additional 20 per cent stake in Zenotech Laboratories.
As a result of the acquisition of a majority stake in Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd in October last year, the Japanese firm had indirectly come to control 46.85 per cent of the issued and outstanding equity share capital in Zenotech, which Ranbaxy holds.
A Bench headed by Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan stayed the Madras High Court’s ex parte interim order that restrained Daiichi from going ahead with its proposed open offer, which was scheduled to begin on July 15 and close on August 3.
Daiichi submitted that all the complaints against it by the Zenotech minority shareholders were aimed at thwarting the whole process so as to extort a share price higher than the one prescribed by market regulator Sebi.
Senior counsels Mukul Rohtagi and Senthil Jagdeesan said the proposed open offer made by the company was in accordance with law and should be allowed.
According to them, the High Court failed to appreciate that no prejudice would be caused to the petitioners if the open offer was permitted to proceed.
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Earlier in January, Daiichi Sankyo had announced it would launch an open offer for Zenotech to acquire 68.85 lakh shares or a 20 per cent stake in accordance with the provisions of the Sebi (Substantial Acquisition of Shares and Takeover) Regulations, 1997.
Daiichi had said it would pay up to Rs 78.23 crore, at Rs 113.62 a share, to Zenotech shareholders for the stake in the open offer. However, the offer ran into controversy as minority shareholders complained to Sebi against Daiichi for allegedly not honouring a commitment to make the offer at Rs 160 a share.