Amanat acquires Sukoon stake to create largest GCC post-acute care platform

Move aims to support Dubai-listed Amanat's plans to spin off an IPO of its healthcare division

Cambridge Medical and Rehabilitation Centre in Saudi Arabia, which is part of Amanat's healthcare portfolio. Photo: CMRC

Dubai's Amanat Holdings has completed the acquisition of a majority stake in critical care medical company Sukoon International Holding through a merger with Cambridge Medical and Rehabilitation Centre, creating the largest pan-GCC post-acute care platform.

The merged entity has 400 operational beds, with a 300-bed expansion under way.

As part of the deal, Sukoon shareholders received 15 per cent of Amanat’s shares in CMRC in return for Amanat receiving additional shares in Sukoon, the company said in a statement on Wednesday to the Dubai Financial Market, where its shares are traded.

Amanat will own about 85 per cent of the post-merger entity.

The deal was first announced in December.

“The merger … places Amanat in a strong position to benefit from the significant post-acute care bed gap across KSA [Saudi Arabia] and the UAE,” Amanat’s chairman Hamad Alshamsi said.

“The merged entity strengthens our newly announced platform, Amanat Healthcare, consolidating its position as a market-leading provider of specialised health care in the GCC and enhances the range of strategic value creation options for the platform, including a potential IPO [initial public offering] in the near-term.”

Earlier this month, Amanat said it is consolidating its healthcare assets in the Middle East into a single platform, with plans for a potential IPO of the new division as part of its growth strategy.

The new company, Amanat Healthcare, will have assets across the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain with an expected capacity of 1,000 beds within three years.

“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 KSA,” Amanat’s acting chief executive John Ireland said.

“With the expansion of our existing facility under way, we are confident we will continue to grow profitability and margins at Sukoon in the near term.”

Amanat reported a 14 per cent jump in its 2022 adjusted net profit on the back of higher revenue.

The company’s adjusted net profit, which excludes gains from sales and trading, climbed to Dh117.4 million ($32 million), while revenue for the year rose by more than 24 per cent to Dh513.1 million.

Its total assets grew by more than 2 per cent to Dh3.6 billion.