SC Tells Andhra HC To Decide On Ranbaxy-Sun Pharma Merger Within 2 Days

The Supreme Court on Wednesday asked the Andhra Pradesh High Court, which had passed an order staying the merger of Ranbaxy with Sun Pharma, to deliver its judgment on the issue within two days.

A bench of Justice BS Chauhan and Justice AK Sikri posted the case for hearing on May 27.

The pharmaceutical giants had moved court, seeking its direction to vacate the high court’s interim order, which stayed the merger and asked to maintain the status quo.

The HC had passed the order on a petition filed by two individual investors who alleged heavy trading of Ranbaxy stocks before the announcement of merger with Sun Pharma.

They had pleaded to the court to direct the SEBI to investigate the insider trading of Ranbaxy shares and take appropriate action against Sun Pharma and Silver Street.

Senior advocate Abhishekh Manu Singhvi, appearing for Sun Pharmaceutical, submitted that there is “absolute abuse of process of law in the case as the order was passed on a petition of two individuals, which would affect the biggest deal in the pharma sector.”

The bench, however, said shareholders have the right to challenge the merger.

On April 6, the Mumbai-based Sun Pharma had announced it would acquire Ranbaxy in an all-stock transaction with a total equity value of $3.2 billion, along with a debt of $800 million, taking the overall deal value to $4 billion.