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

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 yesterday 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 postacute 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 in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain with an expected 1,000-bed capacity within three years.