Daiichi Sankyo moves NCLT to stay RHC Holdings proceedings

New Delhi: Japanese pharmaceutical firm Daiichi Sankyo Inc. has moved the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) to stay the insolvency proceedings against RHC Holdings Pvt. Ltd initiated by HDFC Bank Ltd. A two-member NCLT bench has asked RHC Holdings and HDFC Bank to file a reply over the move within a week. The tribunal has directed the matter be listed on 4 October for the next hearing.

Daiichi Sankyo, which has filed an intervention application in the insolvency plea filed by HDFC Bank, said it has a decree to recover money against RHC Holdings. The Delhi high court has already granted status quo over sale of assets by RHC Holdings.

A tribunal in Singapore had passed the award in favour of Daiichi Sankyo holding that Singh brothers—Malvinder Singh and Shivinder Singh—had while selling its shares concealed information that the Indian company was facing probes by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Department of Justice.

The high court had on January 31 had upheld the international arbitral award passed in the favour of Daiichi Sankyo and paved the way for enforcement of the 2016 tribunal award against the brothers, who had sold their shares in Ranbaxy Laboratories to Daiichi Sankyo in 2008 for ₹ 9,576.1 crore.

ALSO READ | Brothers Singh and the squandering of a business empire

Sun Pharmaceuticals Ltd had later acquired Ranbaxy Laboratories from Daiichi Sankyo.

Daiichi Sankyo had moved the high court seeking direction to the Singh brothers to take steps towards paying its ₹ 3,500 crore arbitration award, including depositing the amount. It had also urged the court to attach their assets, which may be used to recover the award.