PureHealth buys UK hospital operator Circle in $1.2bn deal

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PureHealth has agreed to acquire Circle Health Group of the UK from US company Centene in a deal worth $1.2bn as the United Arab Emirates’ largest healthcare provider extends its international expansion ambitions.

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). They are controlled by the UAE’s powerful national security adviser, Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed al-Nahyan, who also chairs the emirate’s main sovereign wealth fund, the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority. 

Circle operates the largest network of private hospitals in the UK with more than 50 sites across the country and about 8,200 employees. It has revenues of about $1.3bn.

“We are confident that it [the acquisition] will position us for continued growth and success,” said Hamad Al Ameri, chief executive of Alpha Dhabi. 

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 $500mn 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 controlled by Sheikh Tahnoon, as well as the government-owned ADQ holding company, have emerged as important players in the UAE’s overseas investment drive. 

But 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. IHC’s net profit grew 181 per cent in 2022.

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. Circle pulled out of a landmark deal to manage an NHS hospital in 2015, just three years into a decade-long contract amid performance-related criticism.

The UAE group will take over Circle’s portfolio, including the UK’s first purpose-built rehabilitation hospital.

“PureHealth, as the region’s largest healthcare group, is well-positioned to make significant contributions to the improvement of healthcare systems and access to world-class medical services in the UAE and beyond,” said Farhan Malik, chief executive of PureHealth.