A subsidiary of Malaysia’s IHH Healthcare has appealed a Tokyo court’s dismissal of its damages claim against Daiichi Sankyo, extending a cross-border dispute rooted in the acquisition of India’s Fortis Healthcare.
Northern TK Venture filed the appeal after the Tokyo court rejected its case on September 10 and ordered it to bear the litigation costs. The company had sought damages of as much as 109.3 billion rupees, arguing that litigation initiated by Daiichi Sankyo delayed the approvals needed to complete part of its Fortis transaction.
IHH acquired a 31% interest in Fortis through the subsidiary. A planned open offer for a further 26% was halted after Daiichi pursued contempt proceedings against Fortis’s founders, who were judgment debtors in a separate dispute. IHH maintains that it was not a party to that underlying judgment-debt conflict and says the resulting delay caused compensable loss.
Daiichi has disputed that position and welcomed the September dismissal. Fortis and Daiichi had not issued fresh public responses to the notice of appeal when IHH announced it.
The appeal does not erase the trial judgment. It asks a higher court to review the dismissal, while the order against Northern TK Venture remains the operative result unless it is stayed or reversed. The appellate court could affirm, modify or set aside the decision, depending on the grounds presented.
The case sits at an unusual intersection of Japanese procedure, Malaysian corporate disclosure and an Indian takeover. Its next stage will matter not only to the damages claim but also to IHH’s stated plan to deepen its investment in Fortis over the coming years.
