UAE’s Pure Health to launch IPO next month

The healthcare group will list its shares on the Abu Dhabi bourse

Pure Health has a network of more than 25 hospitals, 160 laboratories and 100 clinics. Victor Besa / The National

Pure Health, the UAE’s largest healthcare group, plans to launch an initial public offering next month and list its shares on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange amid continued IPO momentum in the Emirates.

The listing of Pure Health, whose assets include insurance companies, hospitals, clinics, and diagnostics facilities, on the Arab world’s second-largest bourse is subject to regulatory approvals and other relevant considerations, the company said on Tuesday.

Current shareholders in Pure Health are Alpha Dhabi Holding and International Holding Company (IHC) Healthcare Holding, subsidiaries of the Abu Dhabi conglomerate IHC, and Abu Dhabi holding company ADQ, by way of a wholly owned subsidiary.

“This IPO will position Abu Dhabi as a front-runner in the global healthcare landscape,” Farhan Malik, managing director of Pure Health, said.

“It will enable Pure Health to continue to … expand the depth and geographic reach of groundbreaking innovation for patients, healthcare technology, expansion globally through acquisitions.”

In August, Pure Health agreed to purchase the UK’s biggest private healthcare company, Circle Health, from Centene Corporation, in a deal valued at Dh4.41 billion ($1.2 billion). The acquisition marked Pure Health’s first entry into the UK market.

The company also this year completed a Dh1.8 billion purchase of an equity investment in Ardent Health Services, which is the US’s fourth-largest private healthcare group operating across six states.

In January last year, ADQ signed a deal to merge its healthcare subsidiaries, including Abu Dhabi Health Services Company, better known as Seha, and the National Health Insurance Company (Daman) with Alpha Dhabi’s Pure Health to create the Emirates’ largest healthcare provider.

ADQ merged its healthcare entities, Rafed and Union71, with Pure Health in 2021.

Pure Health now has a network of more than 25 hospitals, 160 laboratories, 100 clinics and a workforce of more than 24,000 employees.

In June last year, Pure Health committed to spend Dh10 billion over the next 10 years on procuring products in the UAE and supporting the country's economy.

The company did not say how much it plans to raise through its planned IPO.

Shaista Asif, chief operating officer at Pure Health, presents the company's plan at Louvre Abu Dhabi. All photos by Victor Besa / The National

Pure Health used the example of teenage Emirati patient 'Ahmed', who would be monitored throughout his life as his health fluctuates. In Ahmed's scenario, he experiences cancer and a major road accident but recovers.

Farhan Malik, chief executive of Pure Health, said Abu Dhabi wants to become a hub for longevity science.

Shaista Asif said the process must start with the centralising of medical records and better ways to manage them.

Visitors attend the unveiling of Pure Health's plans to enter anti-aging research.

“The planned listing would allow Pure Health to claim a position among the world’s leading health care groups, benefitting people in an increasing number of countries while reliably leading the way in executing development objectives of our nation,” said Pure Health chairman Hamad Al Hammadi.

Pure Health's IPO plans coincide with a surge in listing activity on regional stock markets, including the ADX, the Dubai Financial Market, and Saudi Arabia's Tadawul. This trend is attributed to the recovery of their economies from the coronavirus-induced slowdown, boosted by higher oil prices and government reforms.

Abu Dhabi has notably accounted for 14 percent of all global listings in the first quarter of 2023, underscoring the strength of its capital markets amid a challenging global IPO market, according to global consultancy EY.

Investcorp Capital, a Bahrain-based asset manager, commenced trading on the ADX last week after a successful IPO that raised Dh1.66 billion ($451 million).

Blockchain and crypto solutions company Phoenix Group last month said it is planning to public in Abu Dhabi, without specifying the timeline or size of the IPO.

The UAE capital attracted $3 billion worth of listing proceeds in the first quarter of this year, placing it third worldwide, with Adnoc Gas raising about Dh9.1 billion from the sale of a 5 per cent stake.

The ADX also hosted the largest Mena IPO in the second quarter, with Adnoc L&S raising $769.5 million.

With broader UAE IPO momentum underway, Dubai Taxi announced on Tuesday its aim to raise as much as $315 million through its listing on the DFM.

In 2022, Middle East IPOs collectively raised more than $23 billion from 48 listings, a significant increase compared to the previous year's $7.52 billion from 20 offerings, as reported by EY data.