VPS Healthcare, a UAE-based medical group, has hired Deutsche Bank to weigh up its options in the multibillion-dollar takeover tussle for Al Noor Hospitals.
Al Noor, listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE), has recommended to its shareholders a US$2.2 billion offer from South African-owned Mediclinic that it has agreed to. Meanwhile, NMC Healthcare, a rival UAE hospitals group which is also listed in London, is believed to be preparing a higher bid.
But the entry of Deutsche Bank raises the stakes in the contest.
The German bank is regarded as an expert on the finances of the UAE healthcare sector, having advised NMC Healthcare and Al Noor on their London listings in 2012 and 2013 respectively.
Deutsche Bank declined to comment on its hiring by VPS Healthcare. But one banker familiar with the matter said: “We have been asked to look at the options by VPS. Some people in Abu Dhabi realised they were at risk of losing a valuable local asset.”
VPS Healthcare and Deutsche Bank are considering all their options in the complicated three-way contest.
But whatever the outcome, it looks as though the bid will be a catalyst for consolidation in the fast-growing regional health business. “It may be, if Mediclinic wins Al Noor, that a merger between VPS and NMC is an alternative option to create a local ‘champion’ in the healthcare business,” the banker added.
Having Deutsche Bank as an adviser gives VPS Healthcare credibility, expertise and financial firepower in the takeover contest.
Senior executives at Al Noor had been privately dismissive of VPS’s intentions and financial capability.
Dr Shamsheer Vayalil, the founder and managing director of VPS Healthcare, said this month that he would "definitely" make a bid for Al Noor. Named as one of the most powerful Indian business leaders in the UAE by Forbes magazine, Dr Vayalil forecast that VPS Healthcare's revenue would reach $1bn this year, adding that the firm was looking to add 5,000 jobs to its existing 7,500 workforce in the UAE.
His best known assets are the Burjeel hospitals in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, where it has more hospital beds than either Al Noor or NMC Healthcare, according to recent research from Citibank.
Meanwhile, NMC Healthcare is believed to be preparing its own counter-offer for Al Noor, after the Panel on Takeovers and Mergers in London allowed it more time to put together its terms. A spokesman for NMC declined to comment.
Any counter-bids will probably come after the publication of Mediclinic’s official notice to shareholders setting out formal terms and details. That could come next week, under the original timetable when the deal was agreed last month.
Al Noor shares closed last week at 1,158 pence on the LSE, just below the price implied in Mediclinic’s bid. Some analysts have said a rival offer would have to be pitched at about 1,240 pence to persuade Al Noor shareholders to reject the South Africans’ terms.
Two major shareholders in Al Noor – Sheikh Mohammed bin Butti Al Hamed and Kassem Alom – have committed 34 per cent “irrevocable” acceptance of the Mediclinc offer, but those pledges will lapse if the offer does not attract a minimum of 75 per cent approval.
Analysts believe that the determining factor in any contested takeover could be the amount of cash put on the table by the rival bidders.
“If three offers for Al Noor emerge, in addition to valuation, the weighting towards cash as opposed to equity should be increasingly important in framing Al Noor shareholders’ preference,” said Mathew Menezes, a healthcare analyst at Citibank in Johannesburg, where Mediclinic is based. “Intuitively, given Mediclinic’s size, the firm’s ability to provide an all cash offer should be best, although we also expect that Mediclinic may be most valuation-sensitive and may suffer from a first-mover disadvantage in attempting to acquire Al Noor.
“Similarly, an all-cash offer by NMC looks challenging, given that a significant rights issue would likely be required.”
The healthcare market in the Arabian Gulf is projected to grow 12 per cent annually to $69.4bn by 2018 from $39.4bn in 2013, according to Alpen Capital, a Dubai-based financial services advisory firm.
fkane@thenational.ae
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ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
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Company Profile
Company name: Yeepeey
Started: Soft launch in November, 2020
Founders: Sagar Chandiramani, Jatin Sharma and Monish Chandiramani
Based: Dubai
Industry: E-grocery
Initial investment: $150,000
Future plan: Raise $1.5m and enter Saudi Arabia next year
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
If you go
Flight connections to Ulaanbaatar are available through a variety of hubs, including Seoul and Beijing, with airlines including Mongolian Airlines and Korean Air. While some nationalities, such as Americans, don’t need a tourist visa for Mongolia, others, including UAE citizens, can obtain a visa on arrival, while others including UK citizens, need to obtain a visa in advance. Contact the Mongolian Embassy in the UAE for more information.
Nomadic Road offers expedition-style trips to Mongolia in January and August, and other destinations during most other months. Its nine-day August 2020 Mongolia trip will cost from $5,250 per person based on two sharing, including airport transfers, two nights’ hotel accommodation in Ulaanbaatar, vehicle rental, fuel, third party vehicle liability insurance, the services of a guide and support team, accommodation, food and entrance fees; nomadicroad.com
A fully guided three-day, two-night itinerary at Three Camel Lodge costs from $2,420 per person based on two sharing, including airport transfers, accommodation, meals and excursions including the Yol Valley and Flaming Cliffs. A return internal flight from Ulaanbaatar to Dalanzadgad costs $300 per person and the flight takes 90 minutes each way; threecamellodge.com
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Gothia Cup 2025
4,872 matches
1,942 teams
116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams
Bharat
Director: Ali Abbas Zafar
Starring: Salman Khan, Katrina Kaif, Sunil Grover
Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
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
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The team
Photographer: Mateusz Stefanowski at Art Factory
Videographer: Jear Valasquez
Fashion director: Sarah Maisey
Make-up: Gulum Erzincan at Art Factory
Model: Randa at Art Factory Videographer’s assistant: Zanong Magat
Photographer’s assistant: Sophia Shlykova
With thanks to Jubail Mangrove Park, Jubail Island, Abu Dhabi
Company%20profile
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COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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3/5 stars
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Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
About Karol Nawrocki
• Supports military aid for Ukraine, unlike other eurosceptic leaders, but he will oppose its membership in western alliances.
• A nationalist, his campaign slogan was Poland First. "Let's help others, but let's take care of our own citizens first," he said on social media in April.
• Cultivates tough-guy image, posting videos of himself at shooting ranges and in boxing rings.
• Met Donald Trump at the White House and received his backing.
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
