NMC Health forming joint venture with Saudi pension fund

Middle East-focussed private healthcare operator NMC Health announced the signing of definitive documents to form a joint venture in healthcare with Hassana Investment Company on Tuesday.

The FTSE 100 company described Hassana as the investment arm of the General Organization for Social Insurance (GOSI) in Saudi Arabia - a government administered pension fund covering private sector employees in the country, and one of the largest pension funds in the world by assets under management.

It said all commercial terms and agreements had been finalised between NMC and Hassana, with both parties working towards customary closing requirements.

The joint venture would be formed by NMC's contribution of its five assets in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and an additional cash injection at closing, and GOSI's contribution of 38.88% stake in Tadawul-listed National Medical Care Company (Care) at a price of SAR 54 per share.

At the closing of the transaction, NMC would own a 52% stake through the combination of asset contribution and cash injection, and GOSI would own a 48% stake through a wholly-owned subsidiary vehicle, with NMC having operational control of the venture.

Both NMC and GOSI had agreed to a long-term growth plan for the joint venture.

NMC also said that in addition to building “solid operational teams” at its facilities in KSA, it had set up an independent corporate team in the kingdom, appointing “highly capable and experienced” people to the positions of country chief executive officer, chief financial officer and respective heads of strategy, business development and human resources.

The board said it believed that the corporate team in Saudi Arabia was “well-positioned” to integrate and drive the growth envisioned for the joint venture.

“We are pleased to reach this important milestone in the creation of our joint venture with GOSI, which sets a clear line of sight to the near-term completion of the transaction,” said NMC Health chief executive officer Prasanth Manghat.

“This partnership will allow NMC to significantly increase its pace of expansion in the kingdom, while simultaneously bringing best practices to the country.

“The attractive, but underserved Saudi healthcare market offers significant growth opportunities and the joint venture is uniquely placed to benefit from them.”

Saad bin Abdulmohsen Al-Fadly, chief executive officer of Hassana, added that the signing of definitive agreements represented a “major step” towards the formalisation of his company’s partnership with NMC.

“The combination of Hassana/GOSI as one of the pre-eminent financial institutions in the region and NMC Health, the largest and one of the most successful healthcare operators in the Gulf Cooperation Council, represents a leap forward in our commitment to invest in the healthcare sector in Saudi Arabia.

“The new joint venture is well-positioned to capitalise on the market opportunities in Saudi and we look forward to transforming the joint venture into one of the leading healthcare players in the kingdom.”