Arbitrator rejects Max’s claim on Care Hospital
MUMBAI : Max Healthcare Institute Ltd’s petition seeking to prevent the sale of TPG-backed Care Hospitals to Blackstone Inc. has been dismissed by an arbitrator, three people with the knowledge of the deal said. On 16 March, Max signed a term sheet with Touch Healthcare to purchase Care Hospitals.
Care Hospitals is owned by Hyderabad-based Quality Care India Ltd, which in turn is 96% owned by Touch Healthcare, backed by TPG and others. Max claims the term sheet granted it exclusivity in deal negotiations with Care until 12 April and that it had clauses binding on both parties. It said the owners of Care approached Blackstone on 11 April in violation of the agreement.
Max moved the Bombay high court (HC) in late April; however, on 3 May, the HC rejected its claim that the term sheet was legally binding. It said the term sheet should be read in its entirety rather than in parts. Without going to the merits of the matter, the bench referred the petition to arbitration and appointed retired Justice S.J.
Kathawalla as the arbitrator. According to a person close to the matter, Blackstone signed a share-purchase agreement in May to buy a majority stake in Care Hospitals for around $700 million for a 70% stake. The deal has not yet closed, and regulatory approvals are awaited.
On Thursday, the arbitrator rejected Max’s claim about the term sheet but allowed it to file a statement of claim for expenses or damages it may have incurred in the pursuit of the deal. A spokesperson for TPG declined to comment, while a query sent to a spokesperson for Max Healthcare remained unanswered. Later in the day, Max Healthcare told the exchanges that the arbitrator had turned down its claim.
Read more on livemint.com
