UAE-based Amanat Holdings has announced the full acquisition of healthcare provider Cambridge Medical and Rehabilitation Centre (CMRC) for $232 million. 

CMRC specialises in patients requiring comprehensive rehabilitation and long-term care, including those with chronic illness and injury through its facilities in the UAE and Saudi Arabia. 

In a statement to the Dubai Financial Market (DFM), Amanat said the acquisition from private equity firm TVM Capital Healthcare is one of the biggest deals in the Gulf’s healthcare sector in recent years. 

“The acquisition of CMRC offers Amanat a profitable and scalable business,” said Hamad Al Shamsi, Amanat’s chairman. 

With the transaction, Al Shamsi said, Amanat has fully deployed its paid-up capital of 2.5 billion dirhams ($680 million) and now manages close to 3 billion dirhams in assets. 

Accelerate investments 

The education and healthcare investment firm, which operates schools and hospitals in the region, said on Sunday that it will “accelerate” investments this year. 

The firm reported a full-year 2020 net profit of 10.1 million dirhams, down 83 percent from 60 million dirhams last year. Excluding one-off items, Amanat’s normalised net profit was down 32.5 percent year-on-year to 26.9 million dirhams. 

Despite a net profit fall, the firm said it managed to deliver a “strong performance” last year, particularly during the fourth quarter. 

“We continue to deliver on our strategic objectives to invest in high-yielding assets that are leading the transformation in the healthcare and education sectors delivering further value to our shareholders,” Al Shamsi said on Monday. 

Amanat’s newly acquired asset had consolidated revenues worth $75.3 million in 2020, posting 28 percent in compound annual growth rate (CAGR) from 2017. It ended 2020 with a net cash position of $25.7 million. 

According to Howard Podolsky, group chief executive officer of CMRC, the acquisition has come at a “pivotal time”. 

“We have pioneered the successful roll-out of PAC (post-acute care and rehabilitation) in the region, having established multiple facilities with over 250 beds across the UAE and KSA,” Podolsky said. 

(Writing by Cleofe Maceda; editing by Seban Scaria) 

Cleofe.maceda@refinitiv.com 

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