Dubai: Health care and education firm Amanat Holdings said on Tuesday it plans to raise Dh1.37 billion by selling 55 per cent of its share capital through an IPO (initial public offering) on the Dubai Financial Market (DFM) in October, to capitalise on recovering investor appetite.

The company will sell 55 per cent of the stake at Dh1 each and is expected to open the subscription in the second half of October, it said in a statement.

Amanat will use its total capitalisation of Dh2.5 billion to establish and incorporate companies working in the health care and education sectors, and develop, manage and operate these companies within the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council).

It plans to deploy 95 per cent of its capital on acquisitions and partnership with existing or under development companies, and use 5 per cent of capital to establish new ventures.

“We have reached a pivotal moment for health care and education in the GCC, with a clear need for a company with the resources and expertise necessary to bridge the quality and supply gap presently facing the sectors,” Faisal Bin Juma Belhoulm, chairman of Amanat Holdings, said in a statement.

Health care spending in the Gulf is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 10.7 per cent until 2017.

Rimco Investments and Osool Asset Management are the largest shareholder owning 10 per cent each followed by United Alsaqer Group and Astro AD Cayman, which owns 5 per cent in the company.

Diversification:

“IPOs are good for diversification for investors, but the only thing I am concerned about is the drain on the liquidity that we could witness in the market,” Saleem Khokhar, head of equities at NBAD’s asset management group, told Gulf News.

Marka’s IPO last week was the first one after a hiatus of five years. The much-talked about Emaar Malls Group will also get listed later this week, plus many more family-owned businesses have shown intentions to list on exchanges.

Liquidity on markets was sapped during the subscription period for Emaar Malls, which is slated to get listed on October 2.

“It [Emaar Malls] will do very well, we will see a strong debut,” Khokhar said. “Some people, who didn’t get an allotment, would have already brought Emaar Properties given that they own 85 per cent of the unit.”