Abraaj to sell healthy stake

Abraaj Capital, the Middle East's biggest buyout firm, has agreed to sell a 50 per cent stake in a large Turkish healthcare group to a Malaysian health-investment company and an investment arm of the Malaysian government.

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The sale comes at a difficult time for private equity players, with transaction volumes dwindling this year amid political unrest and global economic chaos. While Abraaj did not disclose how much it made from the sale of Acibadem, the Turkish company, executives said that returns on the investment were good.

"This transaction demonstrates that quality assets in growth markets can outperform and generate significant returns - even during challenging periods," said Arif Naqvi, the founder and group chief executive of Abraaj.

Abraaj had acquired half of Acibadem in 2007 through one of its investment funds. Acibadem provides medical treatment and services at 14 hospitals and eight medical centres in Turkey. It employs about 9,000 people.

Under the deal announced yesterday, Malaysian investors will acquire a total of 75 per cent of Acibadem - 50 per cent from Abraaj and 25 per cent from Turkey's Aydinlar family. The Malaysian groups are Integrated Healthcare Holdings (IHH), a holding company for a variety of health-related businesses, and Khazanah Nasional, the main government investment arm.

afitch@thenational.ae

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