Pure Health, the UAE’s largest healthcare group, has announced plans to acquire a 60 per cent stake in Greece’s Hellenic Healthcare Group (HHG) as part of its strategy to expand globally and diversify revenue streams.
The deal values HHG, the largest private healthcare provider in Greece and Cyprus, at €2.2 billion ($2.3 billion), Pure Health said in a statement on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, where its shares are traded.
Currently, HHG is 90 per cent-owned by CVC Capital Partners VI, a fund managed by global private equity firm CVC, while its chief executive, Dimitris Spyridis, holds the remaining 10 per cent. On completion of the transaction, CVC Capital Partners VI and HHG management will retain a 40 per cent stake in the Greek company.
The transaction, subject to regulatory approvals, highlights the group's “ability in driving growth at scale", said Pure Health chairman Hamad Al Hammadi.
HHG operates 10 hospitals and 16 diagnostic centres, serving 1.4 million patients annually. With a capacity of more than 1,600 beds and a team of at least 6,700 healthcare professionals, it offers specialised medical treatment in various fields such as oncology, cardiology and neurosurgery.
Pure Health aims to integrate HHG’s infrastructure into its existing network, boosting its international operations and targeting 50 per cent of its revenue from outside the Gulf region.
The deal will add to Pure Health’s revenue diversification, streamline operations to boost efficiency and strengthen its financial performance, said Shaista Asif, group chief executive of the company, said.
The latest agreement follows previous Pure Health acquisitions in the UK and the US.
Last January, it completed the Dh4.41 billion ($1.2 billion) acquisition of UK hospital operator Circle Health Group from Centene, a US-listed healthcare company.
The Abu Dhabi company also acquired a 26.05 per cent stake in Ardent Health for $500 million in 2022 from Equity Group Investments, a US-based investment company, and supported its listing on the New York Stock Exchange last July.
Founded in 2006, Pure Health became the largest healthcare provider in the UAE in January 2022 when it merged with the healthcare subsidiaries of Abu Dhabi holding company ADQ.
In December 2023, it raised Dh3.62 billion from its initial public offering on ADX in an oversubscribed deal. It runs more than 100 hospitals and 300 clinics, as well as diagnostic centres and pharmacies.
Its portfolio includes Seha, one of the largest healthcare networks in the UAE, as well as health insurance company Daman and healthcare procurement company Rafed.
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The specs
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
THE BIO
Family: I have three siblings, one older brother (age 25) and two younger sisters, 20 and 13
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What do you love eating or cooking: I’m constantly in the kitchen. Ever since I changed the way I eat I enjoy choosing and creating what goes into my body. However, nothing can top home cooked food from my parents.
Favorite place to go in the UAE: A quiet beach.
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Yemen's Bahais and the charges they often face
The Baha'i faith was made known in Yemen in the 19th century, first introduced by an Iranian man named Ali Muhammad Al Shirazi, considered the Herald of the Baha'i faith in 1844.
The Baha'i faith has had a growing number of followers in recent years despite persecution in Yemen and Iran.
Today, some 2,000 Baha'is reside in Yemen, according to Insaf.
"The 24 defendants represented by the House of Justice, which has intelligence outfits from the uS and the UK working to carry out an espionage scheme in Yemen under the guise of religion.. aimed to impant and found the Bahai sect on Yemeni soil by bringing foreign Bahais from abroad and homing them in Yemen," the charge sheet said.
Baha'Ullah, the founder of the Bahai faith, was exiled by the Ottoman Empire in 1868 from Iran to what is now Israel. Now, the Bahai faith's highest governing body, known as the Universal House of Justice, is based in the Israeli city of Haifa, which the Bahais turn towards during prayer.
The Houthis cite this as collective "evidence" of Bahai "links" to Israel - which the Houthis consider their enemy.
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Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
Russia's Muslim Heartlands
Dominic Rubin, Oxford
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- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
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Price, base: Dh228,000 / Dh232,000 (est)
Engine: 5.7-litre Hemi V8
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Power: 395hp @ 5,600rpm
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Emergency phone numbers in the UAE
Estijaba – 8001717 – number to call to request coronavirus testing
Ministry of Health and Prevention – 80011111
Dubai Health Authority – 800342 – The number to book a free video or voice consultation with a doctor or connect to a local health centre
Emirates airline – 600555555
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