Dubai: The DFM-listed investment firm Amanat Holdings now has a majority stake in Sukoon International Holding Co. after a merger with Cambridge Medical & Rehabilitation Center.
The coming together creates what will be the largest pan-GCC post-acute care provider and with plans to have 1,000 beds in the region in 3 years.
The non-cash deal saw certain Sukoon shareholders receiving around 15 per cent of Amanat’s shares in CMRC in return for Amanat receiving additional shares in Sukoon. Following completion of these, Amanat will own about 85 per cent in the post-merger entity.
“The merged entity strengthens our newly announced platform, Amanat Healthcare, consolidating its position as a market-leading provider of specialized healthcare in the GCC,” said Hamad Alshamsi, the Amanat Chairman. “And enhances the range of strategic value creation options for the platform, including a potential IPO in the near-term.”
The merged entity has w400 operational beds and an additional 300-bed expansion underway, in the UAE and Saudi Arabia. It will be a core component of Amanat’s new standalone healthcare platform.
“Amanat acquired a minority stake in Sukoon in 2015, and we subsequently worked successfully with our colleagues and partners to transform it into one of the leading post-acute care and rehabilitation providers in Saudi Arabia,” said John Ireland, Amanat CEO. “With the expansion of our existing facility underway, we are confident we will continue to grow profitability and margins at Sukoon in the near term.”
