Minority shareholders of Fortis Healthcare Ltd., on Wednesday called for the removal of four directors from its board amid a takeover battle for India's second-largest hospital chain.
National Westminster Bank Plc as a trustee of Jupiter India Fund, East Bridge Capital Master Fund Ltd. and East Bridge Capital Master Fund I Ltd., have requested for an extra-ordinary general meeting, Fortis said in an exchange filing late Wednesday night. Together they hold 12.04 percent stake in the company.
The purpose of the EGM is as follows:
- Removal of Brian Tempest, Harpal Singh, Sabina Vaisoha and Tejinder Singh Shergill as directors of the company.
- Appointment of Suvalaxmi Chakraborty, Ravi Rajagopal and Indrajit Banerjee as independent directors of the company.
This comes at a time when investors have started lining up with offers for Fortis since its founders Malvinder and Shivinder Singh stepped down following allegations of siphoning funds. It has recieved rivalling offers from Manipal Health Enterprise Pvt Ltd., IHH Healthcare Bhd, the Munjal and Burman families and Fosun International.
Fortis' board is set to meet today to review the offers on the table.
Shareholders' request for an EGM will be placed before the "in due course", today's filing said.
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