Burjeel Holding to invest $1 billion in Saudi Arabia

Burjeel Holdings, the UAE’s biggest private healthcare operator, will invest up to $1 billion as part of its expansion plans in Saudi Arabia. Based out of Abu Dhabi, the health care provider is keen at alliances rather than acquiring similar firms in the Kingdom.

One of the major reasons cited for Burjeel Holdings to expand its footprint in Saudi Arabia is that the company is planning an IPO on the Saudi stock exchange Tadawul or in the Kingdom’s parallel market NOMU in the coming months.

The combined bed strength of the healthcare firm, which operates LLH, Medeor, and Lifecare hospital brands is 1660. Besides the UAE, the firm operates in Oman in the GCC region.

Burjeel’s network in UAE and Oman extends to 39 hospitals and medical centres. In addition, there is a pharmacy chain and allied services.with more than 10,000 employees, Burjeel Holdings’ revenues stood at $910 million, recording 18% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) over 2019-21.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed with the Saudi Ministry of Investment, which will see the UAE firm partner select healthcare organisations in that market.

Burjeel’s CEO Dr Shamsheer Vayalil said that they were proud to sign the MoU with the Ministry of Investment, which is a significant step in our entry to the Kingdom.

Looking for Partners

“We are excited about the many opportunities to support the Kingdom’s healthcare ambitions and to bring our expertise to a sector which is integral to the delivery of Vision 2030,” he added.

Burjeel Holdings plan to collaborate with local partners in the Kingdom for various speciality health offerings, for which strong capabilities exist in the Group. The group is already in discussion with some potential partners.

What’s interesting is that Burjeel prefers to do partnerships with existing operators or investors rather than buy up existing healthcare facilities. This would help it deploy the planned investments ‘more astutely rather than engage in heavy capex from the outset’, a healthcare analyst said. The other priority will be to be part of Public Private Partnerships (PPP).

“The group is in discussions with various private sector providers and leading public sector hospitals in SA to deliver these services and expects to begin formalizing collaboration agreements over the coming months,” Burjeel said in a statement.