THE health group which operates Aberdeen’s Albyn Hospital has been sold in a deal worth £950million.
Albyn is the only independent hospital serving the Aberdeen area and the North of Scotland.
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The United Arab Emirates’ largest healthcare provider PureHealth has agreed to acquire Circle Health Group of the UK from US company Centene.
Circle operates the largest network of private hospitals in the UK, with more than 50 sites across the country and about 8,200 employees.
PureHealth is owned by a consortium that includes Abu Dhabi state holding company ADQ and Alpha Dhabi, a listed company that is part of the conglomerate International Holding Company (IHC).
Hamad Al Ameri, chief executive of Alpha Dhabi, told the Financial Times: “We are confident that it (the acquisition) will position us for continued growth and success.
The Circle deal is the latest example of Abu Dhabi’s global acquisition drive as it seeks to deploy excess hydrocarbon revenues into fast-growing sectors that can help diversify its oil-reliant economy.
Earlier this year, PureHealth completed a £396million investment in Ardent Health Services, the fourth-largest private healthcare group in the US, which operates across six states.
From the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company to sovereign investment group Mubadala, Abu Dhabi entities have become increasingly active as its economy swung strongly out of the pandemic, with global dealmakers making a beeline to the city’s power brokers as other sources of global capital dry up.
The IHC family of listed investment vehicles as well as the government-owned ADQ holding company, have emerged as important players in the UAE’s overseas investment drive.
But the Financial Times says IHC’s meteoric rise from tiny company to regional behemoth has also confused market watchers in the Gulf who have raised concerns about transparency and the blurring of the lines between state and private sector interests.
PureHealth has a network of more than 25 hospitals, as well as laboratories and clinics.
Last year, ADQ merged state health operator Seha and insurance provider Daman into PureHealth, forming a national healthcare giant.
Founded in 2004, Circle grew through the acquisition of the larger BMI Healthcare in 2019.
