ADQ to merge two companies with Dubai's Pure Health to create healthcare support services provider

The holding company will merge Rafed and Union71 with the Dubai-based company

A healthcare worker administers a PCR test in Abu Dhabi. Victor Besa / The National  

ADQ, one of the region’s largest holding companies, signed an agreement to merge its healthcare entities Rafed and Union71 with Dubai-based Pure Health to create a major healthcare support services provider.

As part of the agreement, ADQ will transfer its ownership of Rafed and Union71 to Pure Health for a stake in the merged entity.

Pure Health manages a number of hospitals, medical visa screening centers and has 120 laboratories across the UAE. The company has also partnered with the UAE government to conduct Covid-19 tests on all arrivals at the country's airports.

Rafed and Union71's merger with “Pure Health will allow for higher volume throughput across a broader repertoire of tests and value-driven, centralised healthcare procurement services that will service the needs of healthcare providers in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and the Northern Emirates”, Mohamed Alsuwaidi, chief executive of ADQ, said.

Demand for lab testing and other diagnostic services has increased in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

Rafed was formed last year to ensure the availability of medical equipment and pharmaceuticals to healthcare providers in Abu Dhabi. Union71, on the other hand, was created to provide a wide spectrum of testing services to patients through its laboratories.

“We are confident that ADQ’s large healthcare and pharmaceutical portfolio and access to the Abu Dhabi healthcare market will grow our operations and reach across the UAE healthcare ecosystem,” Farhan Malik, chief executive of Pure Health, said.

Set up in 2018, ADQ has a portfolio of conglomerates spanning key sectors of Abu Dhabi’s non-oil economy, including utilities, tourism and hospitality, aviation, transportation, logistics, industrial, real estate, media, healthcare, agri-foods and financial services.

Its portfolio includes Abu Dhabi Power Corporation, Abu Dhabi Airports, Abu Dhabi Ports, Etihad Rail, Seha, insurer Daman, media companies Abu Dhabi Media and twofour54 and Abu Dhabi National Exhibitions Company, among others.

“The merger of Rafed and Union71 within Pure Health will create a robust and synergetic healthcare organisation, thereby elevating the UAE’s global position as a leader in healthcare,” the companies said.

Investments into the healthcare sector have been growing amid the pandemic, which provided a shot in the arm for pharmaceutical, long-term care centres and diagnostic services.

Dubai-listed investment company Amanat Holdings acquired Cambridge Medical and Rehabilitation Centre for $232 million in one of the region's biggest healthcare deals this month.