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Dubai-based, BSE-listed healthcare provider Aster DM Healthcare is planning a dual listing of its GCC unit in Saudi Arabia and the UAE within the next three to five years, chairman and managing director Azad Moopen told CNBC Arabia in an interview (watch, runtime: 5:26). Investors holding a 65% stake will be among the sellers, Moopen said, adding that his family aims to maintain its stake and sell a few shares.
In context: Aster agreed last year to sell a 65% stake in its Gulf business to a consortium led by Dubai-based private equity firm Fajr Capital for USD 1 bn as it looks to spin off the unit from its Indian parent company. The consortium also includes UAE federal sovereign wealth fund Emirates Investment Authority, Al Dhow Holding Co, Wafra International Investment Co and the Olayan family’s Hana Investment. Moopen told CNBC Arabia that he expects the sale to close in the coming weeks.
Expansion in the Kingdom is on the cards: “We’re focusing now on Saudi Arabia, where there is a gap between supply and demand, and we hope to fill part of it especially in pharma,” he said. He said the healthcare group is earmarking USD 100 mn in debt financing to push ahead its growth here, “yet more is needed.”
Aster aims to open 250 pharmacies across the country in the next three to five years, he said, adding that the company is also looking to open hospitals and clinics as part of its expansion.
Astor’s GCC footprint includes 15 hospitals, 118 clinics and 276 pharmacies in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain and Jordan. The 218-bed Aster Sanad in Riyadh is its only Saudi hospital.
ADVISORS- Our friends at HSBC Middle East are sell-side advisors on the spinoff of the GCC business alongside Moelis & Company and Credit Suisse. The transaction is expected to close by March. You can check out the investor presentation for the spinoff here (pdf).
