IHH Healthcare's damages against Daiichi could reach $1.25 billion, expert report says

:Malaysia's IHH Healthcare may be entitled to damages of up to $1.25 billion from Japan's Daiichi Sankyo for blocking its bid for control of Indian hospital operator Fortis, according to a report authorised by its unit.

Northern TK Venture (NTK), a subsidiary of IHH Healthcare, has submitted an expert report by Osborne Partners to a Tokyo court, which states the amount of compensation it is entitled to ranges from 4.24 billion rupees to 109.3 billion rupees, according to a statement on Thursday by its parent.

The report includes an analysis and quantification of the damages that NTK suffered based on three scenarios, IHH said.

IHH shares were trading 0.1 per cent higher on Friday trade while the Japanese pharmaceutical firm's stock fell 0.5 per cent. Fortis was trading more or less unchanged in early India trade.

The report comes more than a year after NTK had filed a claim alleging Daiichi caused losses to the firm by preventing it from going ahead with open offers to increase its stake in Fortis in 2018.

IHH, Asia's largest healthcare operator, had bought a 31 per cent interest in the Indian firm through NTK, but later halted its open offer to buy an additional 26 per cent after the Japanese company filed a contempt plea against Fortis' founders.

Fortis, in a filing with India's National Stock Exchange, did not comment on the issue but said it would update shareholders in case of any material developments. Daiichi did not respond to a Reuters request.

The next hearing at the Tokyo court is now scheduled for February 13, according to a separate statement from IHH.

($1 = 87.5600 Indian rupees)