Amanat Holdings, a Dubai-based healthcare and education investment firm, on Monday confirmed it is assessing monetisation options for its healthcare platform, including a possible regional IPO in the near term, the company said in a bourse statement on Monday.

Amanat was responding to recent media reports. It added it is assessing the appointment of external advisers and would update markets once the process is completed.

Amanat, which is listed on the Dubai Financial Market (DFM), launched Amanat Healthcare in April, in a move that consolidated its healthcare assets. They include Cambridge Medical and Rehabilitation Centre in the UAE and Saudi Arabia, Sukoon, a provider of long-term and post-acute care services in Jeddah, Al-Malaki Specialist Hospital in Bahrain and the real estate assets of CMRC in Abu Dhabi.

Its investment portfolio comprises International Medical Center CJSC, Taaleem Holdings P.S.C., North London Collegiate School Dubai and Middlesex University Dubai, among others, according to Eikon data.

Dubai, which has laid out a privatisation plan that would see the listing of 10 state-linked entities, raised nearly $8.5 billion in proceeds from five IPOs last year and is set to see a few more this year. In January, a senior executive of Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA) said the UAE has 11 IPOs in the pipeline with a value exceeding $2.2 billion.

(Reporting by Brinda Darasha; editing by Seban Scaria)

(brinda.darasha@lseg.com)