Burjeel to begin scaled-down IPO without international investors

Dubai: Healthcare provider Burjeel Holdings will begin selling shares to investors in the UAE starting September 30, after opting against also targeting its initial public offering to international players.

On offer is about 550.7 million shares, representing 11 per cent of the company, according to its prospectus. The offering will include 350.3 million shares to be sold by VPS Healthcare Holdings, which owns 79.8 per cent of Burjeel, the document shows.

International Holding Co. bought a 15 per cent stake in Burjeel earlier this week. IHC is the UAE’s largest company by market value.

Burjeel will announce the final price on October 5, and the shares are expected to be listed in Abu Dhabi on October 10, the prospectus shows. Dubai Islamic Bank, First Abu Dhabi Bank and International Securities are helping to manage the offering.

Founded by doctor Shamsheer Vayalil in 2007, Burjeel will be the first privately-owned firm to go public in the UAE this year. The Middle East is in the midst of an IPO boom that has bucked a global slowdown in listings due to high oil prices and equity inflows. So far, all of the firms that have listed in the UAE have been government owned.

Burjeel operates hospitals and medical centers in the UAE and Oman. It announced in August that it’s planning an expansion into Saudi Arabia - the Middle East’s biggest economy - with a $1 billion investment by 2030 through joint ventures and public-private partnership models.

The company plans to use part of the money raised from the share sale to pay some of its debt, it said in the prospectus.