UAE billionaire Al Ghurair moves Madras HC against Star Health Insurance

UAE's billionaire businessman Ahmed Abdulla Ahmed Al Ghurair has moved the Madras High Court against Star Health Insurance even as the insurer is looking at a stake sale.

Details of the case were not disclosed on the Madras HC website. The status of the case has been disclosed as 'pending' and the previous date of hearing was April 19.

Star Health Insurance is in the last leg of being sold with players like ICICI Lombard General Insurance said to be in the fray to acquire the company. It is not yet clear what impact the legal case will have on the sale process.

Sources told Moneycontrol that Al Ghurair has demanded certain rights from the insurance company. The case is likely to be heard in the next few weeks. His group company ETA Trading is a shareholder in Star Health Insurance.

Data from Star Health Insurance's pattern of shareholding as of Q3FY18 showed foreign shareholders held 6.17 percent stake in the insurer.

Case details sourced from the court website showed another case was filed by Al Ghurair against the standalone health insurance company a few months earlier.

Al Ghurair is an Emirates billionaire and part of the Al Ghurair group that has a host of companies in the banking, construction and investment spaces, among others.

A mail sent to Star Health Insurance did not elicit any response. Al Ghurair could not be contacted. An e-mail sent to Al Ghurair group bounced back.

An order dated January 12, 2018, stated, "There appear to be disputes regarding the shareholders and the suit had been filed on that account, particularly with respect to the first defendant company, Star Health." The order also said the entire disputes surround the shareholding of Star Health Insurance.

With money control input