Abu Dhabi-based PureHealth Holding PJSC, a health-care platform controlled by one of the city’s sovereign wealth funds and its largest conglomerate, plans to list in the United Arab Emirates’ capital.
The Middle East’s biggest health-care platform is expected to start trading in December, subject to regulatory approvals, according to a statement late on Monday. Wealth fund ADQ and International Holding Co., both overseen by Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the brother of the UAE’s ruler, have been working on a listing for years.
As part of the plans, several companies including Abu Dhabi Health Services Co., known as SEHA, and National Health Insurance Co., known as Daman, were merged into PureHealth by ADQ in Jan. 2022. The firm now operates over 25 hospitals and 100 clinics.
PureHealth is the latest example of the Gulf country seeking to create national champions across sectors. Abu Dhabi’s $48 billion telecom firm e& is pursuing an ambitious expansion strategy after becoming Vodafone Group Plc’s biggest shareholder, and has been mandated by the government to seek opportunistic deals, Bloomberg News has reported.
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PureHealth has also expanded through acquisitions, including a $1.2 billion deal to buy one of the UK’s largest independent hospital operators from Centene Corp. It also bought a minority stake in US health-care provider Ardent Health Services for 1.8 billion dirhams in May.
The firm joins a busy listing calendar in the Gulf country.
Cryptocurrency mining hardware retailer Phoenix Group Plc is planning to go public in Abu Dhabi in a $371 million deal. On Monday, Dubai Taxi Co. started taking investor orders for its share sale that could raise as much as $315 million.
(Updates with background on PureHealth from fifth paragraph)
