Top official of UAE's NMC Health resigns

Geneva: NMC Health Plc, an operator of hospitals in the UAE targeted by short seller Muddy Waters, said its vice-chairman resigned after he was excluded from board discussions for possibly misrepresenting his holdings in the company.

Khaleefa Butti Omair Yousif Ahmed Al Muhairi stepped down with immediate effect, the company said. Earlier this week, NMC removed Butti and Chairman Dr. B.R. Shetty from board meetings on concern they may have misstated their stakes.

This week has been a heady one for the company as Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. announced it doesn’t plan an offer after NMC said the private-equity firm made an approach. GKSD Investment, an investment company backed by hospital investors, said it’s studying a possible offer for the London-listed company.

The stock has lost two-thirds of its value since mid-December when Muddy Waters alleged that NMC manipulated its balance-sheet and inflated the prices of companies it acquired. NMC has said its board plans to vote whether Shetty and Butti could remain as company directors.

NMC has said Muddy Waters’s claims are false and the company hired former FBI Director Louis Freeh to conduct an independent review.