OSIM wins in Court of Appeal against The Wellness Group lawsuit

OSIM International has again won in a two-year-long legal battle with The Wellness Group, with the Court of Appeal ordering the latter to pay for the additional legal costs.

In April, the Singapore High Court had dismissed claims against OSIM by The Wellness Group and its chairman and founder Manoj Murjani for oppressive conduct and conspiracy to injure in relation to the lifestyle firm's shares in TWG Tea.

The Wellness Group then brought it to the Court of Appeal.

According to a press release from OSIM on Monday, the Court of Appeal said that a rights issue which The Wellness Group had complained about was reasonably considered by the directors and that there were reasons justifying the raising of capital. The court found no basis for complaints that the pricing of the rights was done unfairly to dilute the minority.

The court also rejected The Wellness Group's claim that majority shareholders knew that The Wellness Group would not or could not subscribe to the rights, and found that OSIM was open to The Wellness Group to subscribe to the rights shares.

With the loss, The Wellness Group has been ordered to pay the cost of the unsuccessful appeal.

Mr Murjani had resigned from the board and as CEO of TWG Tea in August 2012.

Clarification Note: An earlier version of the story used TWG to refer to The Wellness Group after the first mention. This has since been revised to avoid confusion with TWG Tea.