Gulf Islamic Investments is investing close to $530 million for a majority stake in Saudi Arabian healthcare operator Almeswak as part of its push for a more than threefold increase in its asset to $10 billion in next five years, its co-chief executive said.
GII, a UAE-based Sharia-compliant alternative investment manager, is looking to invest across the GCC, the US, the UK, Western Europe and India, Pankaj Gupta told The National.
Real estate, food, logistics, technology, health care, consumer, retail and investments in fast-growing start-ups across the regions will help the company grow its asset base from the current $3bn.
“The way we are looking at business, for sure, we should be anywhere in excess of $5bn in the next three years. In four to five years, I think we should be touching somewhere around $10bn,” Mr Gupta said.
The company, which is heavily invested in the commercial real estate and owns a large portfolio of logistics and warehousing assets in Europe and the GCC, plans to invest more than $1bn in Saudi Arabia and India.
In Saudi Arabia, the company plans to invest $750m to $1bn in the next three years depending on the market situation but “we are very excited about the opportunities we are evaluating”, Mr Gupta said.
Economies in the Middle East and North Africa have rebounded strongly from the pandemic and are expected to grow 5.2 per cent in 2022, the fastest rate since 2016, boosted by higher oil prices, according to a recent World Bank report.
The continued economic momentum has also restarted merger and acquisition activity in the region.
The value of M&A deals in Mena jumped 11 per cent to $21bn in the first quarter of this year, with deals valued at under $500m reaching $4.6bn this year, marking the strongest start to a year since records began in 1980, according to data by Refinitiv.
The UAE was the most active in terms mergers and acquisitions, which rose 5 per cent to $4.3bn this year, while Saudi Arabia attracted the most M&A capital, worth $47.4bn, according to Refinitiv report.
The deal to buy a stake in Almeswak, the largest dental and dermatology chain with more than 80 centres in 25 cities in the kingdom, is part of GII’s push to expand its portfolio of investment into the region’s biggest economy.
GII is buying a 51 per cent stake in Almeswak, which was previously 70 per cent owned by Riyadh-based private equity company Jadwa Investment and 30 per cent by UAE-based healthcare investment company United Eastern Medical Services. After the deal, Jadwa will become a minority shareholder with 49 per cent stake, Mr Gupta said.—The National
