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Tuesday, 24 May 2022

Saudi healthcare group looks to enter Egypt by acquiring New Cairo hospital

Saudi Arabia’s Mouwasat Medical Services has signed a non-binding MoU to acquire 100% of Al Marasem International Hospital in an all-cash transaction, the company said in a disclosure to the Saudi stock exchange. The final value of its purchase from Al Marasem International Development will be set after the completion of due diligence, it said. Neither party replied to multiple requests for comment yesterday when we reached out.

About the hospital: Situated in New Cairo, the 220-bed hospital has been in development for over a decade but Al Marasem has reportedly not been able to acquire funding to finish construction or purchase beds and medical equipment. The real estate developer, a subsidiary of the Saudi construction giant Binladin Group, had been looking to borrow EGP 700 mn to complete the EGP 1.5 bn facility back in 2020.

About Mouwasat: The Tadawul-listed company owns six hospitals in Saudi Arabia. The acquisition would, if it goes through, appear to be Mouwasat’s first foray into a foreign market. The group, which has said it aims to expand across the region, posted earnings of SAR 150.2 mn (EGP 737 mn) in 1Q 2022, up 2% y-o-y.

This is the third potential investment in Egypt by a Saudi entity we’ve gotten wind of this week: This week, we’ve heard that the Saudi wealth fund is considering purchasing United Bank from the Central Bank of Egypt, and a Saudi food company is close to acquiring the Egyptian Belgian Company.

It’s also the second healthcare M&A of the week after meds distributor Ibnsina said it was getting into the hospitals business with the EGP 430 mn purchase of Al Shorouk Hospital.

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