Waha Capital invests in UAE healthcare

Abu Dhabi, June 17, 2013 (WAM) - Waha Capital PJSC (ADX: WAHA), a leading Abu Dhabi-based investment company, has revealed its investment in the healthcare sector by acquiring Anglo Arabian Healthcare (AAH), a new healthcare group set up to own and operate hospitals, clinics, pharmacies and diagnostic centres across the United Arab Emirates. This investment broadens Waha Capital's asset mix, marking its entry into an area that holds high growth potential and is a priority for the UAE. The healthcare group owns and operates 16 assets, employs over 300 people, including 60 doctors, and serves over 400,000 registered outpatients, with average daily visits of over 1,500 patients. The initial assets include a day-surgery hospital in Sharjah and a new 120-bed hospital in Ajman, which is due to open later this year, as well as six clinics, five pharmacies and three laboratories across Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, and Ajman. AAH plans to expand rapidly in the next few years, both organically and through further acquisitions. AAH will operate several brands serving different segments of the market, from affordable, quality healthcare to first class polyclinics and hospitals. In addition, the group will offer world class pathology and radiology services to its own healthcare network as well as to other independent clinics. Waha Capital's investment in the new health-care group involves taking majority stakes in the Sharjah Corniche Group, Ajman-based Ibn Sina Group and Ibn Sina Hospital, and Proficiency Central Laboratories, which owns market-leading laboratories in Abu Dhabi and Sharjah. The founders of the companies have all retained meaningful minority stakes in their respective businesses and are keen to reinvest in future growth plans. – Emirates News Agency, WAM