UAE's NMC group sells 40 pct stake to Centurion for $1bln

UAE’s NMC group sells 40 pct stake to Centurion for $1bln

Move comes as part of an attempt to expand in overseas markets

January 29, 2011 2:42 by Reuters

United Arab Emirates’ private healthcare firm New Medical Centre (NMC) has sold a 40 percent stake to Centurion Investment to expand in overseas markets as demand for medical care surges, its CEO said on Saturday.

NMC, a 36-year-old company with hospitals across the UAE and a pharmaceutical manufacturing facility in Abu Dhabi, has sold the stake for 4 billion dirhams ($1.08 billion). Centurion is a new UAE healthcare entity with plans to go into other businesses in the future.

“The deal has been signed. It will help us expand and grow further in the UAE and internationally,” Bavaguthu Raghuram Shetty told Reuters.

“We see huge growth opportunities in healthcare across the Middle East and North Africa region and India where we plan to expand with sizeable investments” he said.

Abu Dhabi-based NMC has partnered India’s Biocon Ltd to market a range of biopharmaceuticals in the Gulf region.

NMC plans to more than double the number of hospital beds in the UAE within two years from the current 450 beds, he said, adding that plans were also underway to expand in the biotechnology sector.

NMC group’s other businesses include financial services, retail and trading.

(Reporting by Stanley Carvalho, editing by Sami Aboudi and Yoko Nishikawa)