ReAya Holding, Saudi's first growth capital private equity holding company dedicated to investments in healthcare and life sciences, has co-invested with Turkish Nesmal to acquire a 40% stake - and kept an option to take up another 20% - in one of Turkey's fastest growing companies, AvrupaGoz, ReAya founding CEO Dr. Ahmed Emara said. Today, ReAya Holding and Nesmal own 80% of AvrupaGoz and fully control the board and executive management.
AvrupaGoz is a chain of ophthalmology day surgery centers and hospitals. "When we had signed our letter of intent back in July, the company owned only eight eye centers in Istanbul [and]one in Ankara. Today it owns 13 and by year end, it will own 20 centers/hospital, which would span across [a wider]Turkish geography," Dr. Emara clarified.
This is the fifth acquisition of ReAya Holding in two years. In 2013, it had acquired 49% of Zahrawi Medical, a GCC-based exclusive distributor of renowned international brands in the medical, laboratory and surgical devices market for the past 23 years. In early 2012, ReAya acquired a 25% stake in the 30-year-old SABA Medical, considered as the most organized chain in the Jeddah primary care market.
ReAya Holding also owns a strategic stake in Arabio, the first and only vaccines plant across the region and the exclusive licensee of Novartis vaccines. It likewise has a small stake in GenWay, a San Diego-based R&D laboratory diagnostic company.
ReAya's board comprises some of the most prominent Saudi businessmen including Khaled Juffali, Saleh Al Turki, ZuhairFayes, in addition to its founding CEO Dr. Emara. It launched its operation only two years ago from Jeddah.
Dr. Emara said they have the appetite for more target acquisitions across Turkey, GCC and hopefully Egypt. "Our investment criteria are simple: cash-positive, growing and well managed companies. Our sweet spot is between 20-70% and we think that our specialization in healthcare and life sciences, our list of very strong shareholders plus indefinite exit horizons differentiate as from other investors."
Press Release 2014
