Abu Dhabi’s Gulf Capital plans to launch a $750 million fund next year to invest in sectors such as technology, healthcare and health technology, according to the company’s chief executive.
It will be the investment company's fourth private equity fund.
"It will be essentially focusing on [the] Gulf, Egypt but from here, also pushing into Asia and Africa. We would like to invest in growth markets," Karim El Solh told The National in an interview.
Gulf Capital plans to close the fund in 12 to 18 months as it seeks to invest in new markets.
Gulf Capital, which manages more than $2.5 billion in assets across seven funds and investment vehicles, invests in asset classes including private equity, private debt and real estate.
The company’s $750m GC Equity Partners Fund III, which was launched in 2015 is 78 per cent deployed and is expected to close this year, Mr El Solh said.
The company on Tuesday said it acquired two US HealthTech companies Eclat Health and Hansei Solutions for $60m as it focuses on boosting its healthcare-focused revenue cycle management platform.
“This is the first time we [have] invested in the US market and is very exciting. The [revenue cycle management] market is growing 14 per cent so it is exciting for us,” he said referring to the transaction.
Gulf Capital already has an investment in Accumed, one of the top RCM providers in the UAE and Saudi Arabia.
Eclat, based in Virginia, offers a range of RCM services including coding and auditing, clinical documentation improvement and billing services. The company was founded by Karthik and Sneha Polsani in 2008.
Gulf Capital has also invested in Kuiper Group, which specialises in supplying rig crews to international offshore oil and gas drilling and construction companies, payment solution provider Geidea and healthcare booking platform Vezeeta.com, among others.
It holds stakes in the UAE-based IVI Middle East, which provides in vitro fertilisation [IVF] services to patients, as well as Cedar White Bradley, which provides intellectual property services throughout the Mena region.
“We’ve done six deals in the healthcare sector and we wanted to do more and it is a resilient sector. One thing that really excites us is HealthTech, the intersection of healthcare and technology,” Mr El Solh said.
Other companies in the region are also increasing their investment in the healthcare sector as demand for hospitals and other related services increase in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
Dubai-listed investment company Amanat Holdings acquired Cambridge Medical and Rehabilitation Centre for $232m in one of the region's biggest healthcare deals earlier this month.
Mr El Solh said Gulf Capital is aiming to invest in sectors such as technology, online payments, healthcare, HealthTech, business services and consumers.
“If you look at the third fund, when we launched in 2015, we brought a global consultant and we looked at 80 mega trends, studied 40 sectors in the region and anything that is not growing [at a] double-digit growth rate and facing headwinds, we avoided.”
"We didn’t do any deals in oil and gas construction, retail, F&B or hospitality. We went big in technology, online payments, healthcare, HealthTech, business services and consumers. That has paid off very nicely.”
“In 2020, on an average, the total sales of our portfolio companies grew 20 per cent. These companies are beating budget and are growing at a faster rate, more than what we expected.”
Gulf Capital also opened its 1 billion Saudi riyals ($266.6m) Antara residential development in Riyadh last year. The project is “leasing fast”, Mr El Solh said.
The Galleria mall in Abu Dhabi, which the company owns, is also “doing very well”, he added.
“We had 22 million visitors in 2020, exceeding our original targets and the sales of stores on average increased 18 per cent during the last quarter.”
Florida: The critical Sunshine State
Though mostly conservative, Florida is usually always “close” in presidential elections. In most elections, the candidate that wins the Sunshine State almost always wins the election, as evidenced in 2016 when Trump took Florida, a state which has not had a democratic governor since 1991.
Joe Biden’s campaign has spent $100 million there to turn things around, understandable given the state’s crucial 29 electoral votes.
In 2016, Mr Trump’s democratic rival Hillary Clinton paid frequent visits to Florida though analysts concluded that she failed to appeal towards middle-class voters, whom Barack Obama won over in the previous election.
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Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
Day 1, Dubai Test: At a glance
Moment of the day Sadeera Samarawickrama set pulses racing with his strokeplay on his introduction to Test cricket. It reached a feverish peak when he stepped down the wicket and launched Yasir Shah, who many regard as the world’s leading spinner, back over his head for six. No matter that he was out soon after: it felt as though the future had arrived.
Stat of the day - 5 The last time Sri Lanka played a Test in Dubai – they won here in 2013 – they had four players in their XI who were known as wicketkeepers. This time they have gone one better. Each of Dinesh Chandimal, Kaushal Silva, Samarawickrama, Kusal Mendis, and Niroshan Dickwella – the nominated gloveman here – can keep wicket.
The verdict Sri Lanka want to make history by becoming the first team to beat Pakistan in a full Test series in the UAE. They could not have made a better start, first by winning the toss, then by scoring freely on an easy-paced pitch. The fact Yasir Shah found some turn on Day 1, too, will have interested their own spin bowlers.
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Scoreline
UAE 2-1 Saudi Arabia
UAE Mabkhout 21’, Khalil 59’
Saudi Al Abed (pen) 20’
Man of the match Ahmed Khalil (UAE)
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The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
SCORES IN BRIEF
Lahore Qalandars 186 for 4 in 19.4 overs
(Sohail 100,Phil Salt 37 not out, Bilal Irshad 30, Josh Poysden 2-26)
bt Yorkshire Vikings 184 for 5 in 20 overs
(Jonathan Tattersall 36, Harry Brook 37, Gary Ballance 33, Adam Lyth 32, Shaheen Afridi 2-36).
What it means to be a conservationist
Who is Enric Sala?
Enric Sala is an expert on marine conservation and is currently the National Geographic Society's Explorer-in-Residence. His love of the sea started with his childhood in Spain, inspired by the example of the legendary diver Jacques Cousteau. He has been a university professor of Oceanography in the US, as well as working at the Spanish National Council for Scientific Research and is a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council on Biodiversity and the Bio-Economy. He has dedicated his life to protecting life in the oceans. Enric describes himself as a flexitarian who only eats meat occasionally.
What is biodiversity?
According to the United Nations Environment Programme, all life on earth – including in its forests and oceans – forms a “rich tapestry of interconnecting and interdependent forces”. Biodiversity on earth today is the product of four billion years of evolution and consists of many millions of distinct biological species. The term ‘biodiversity’ is relatively new, popularised since the 1980s and coinciding with an understanding of the growing threats to the natural world including habitat loss, pollution and climate change. The loss of biodiversity itself is dangerous because it contributes to clean, consistent water flows, food security, protection from floods and storms and a stable climate. The natural world can be an ally in combating global climate change but to do so it must be protected. Nations are working to achieve this, including setting targets to be reached by 2020 for the protection of the natural state of 17 per cent of the land and 10 per cent of the oceans. However, these are well short of what is needed, according to experts, with half the land needed to be in a natural state to help avert disaster.
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Stormy seas
Weather warnings show that Storm Eunice is soon to make landfall. The videographer and I are scrambling to return to the other side of the Channel before it does. As we race to the port of Calais, I see miles of wire fencing topped with barbed wire all around it, a silent ‘Keep Out’ sign for those who, unlike us, aren’t lucky enough to have the right to move freely and safely across borders.
We set sail on a giant ferry whose length dwarfs the dinghies migrants use by nearly a 100 times. Despite the windy rain lashing at the portholes, we arrive safely in Dover; grateful but acutely aware of the miserable conditions the people we’ve left behind are in and of the privilege of choice.
