UAE’s Al Noor plans merger with South Africa’s Mediclinic

An Emirati hospital operator is combining with South Africa’s Mediclinic global to create a new health care company operating more than 70 hospitals on three continents.

Al Noor is buying Johannesburg-based Mediclinic in a reverse takeover, they said in a statement on Wednesday.

Shares in Al Noor jumped 19 percent to 1,185 pence, above the 1,160 pence value of Mediclinic’s agreed offer and valuing the company’s equity at 1.38 billion pounds ($2.12 billion), as investors anticipated a battle for the group. NMC, another U.A.E. health-care company, had approached Al Noor about a possible offer following Mediclinic’s initial proposal.

Al Noor shareholders will receive a special dividend of GBP3.28 per Al Noor share and will also have the opportunity to tender their shares to Al Noor for cancellation for a cash payment of GBP8.32 per share. The new company will have a premium listing on the London Stock Exchange and a secondary listing on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange and possibly in Namibian Stock Exchange.

Mediclinic, which has healthcare facilities in South Africa, Switzerland and the UAE as well as in the United Kingdom through Spire Healthcare, will own 84 to 93 per cent of the group, depending on take-up by existing Al Noor shareholders.

But Al Noor’s chief executive Ronald Latver said that the Mediclinic merger deal presented a “compelling strategic fit”.

The merged group will have a comprehensive presence in the United Arab Emirates, Switzerland, in Southern Africa and in the United Kingdom, it added.

At 11.30 shares in Al Noor were changing hands at £11.78, while shares in NMC advanced 1.5pc to 821p. The Chairman will be Edwin Hertzog (currently Chairman of Mediclinic) and the Senior Independent Director will be Ian Tyler (currently Chairman of Al Noor).

“The combined business represents a unique platform from which to pursue numerous expansion opportunities in the high-growth UAE and wider Middle East healthcare market”, said Mediclinic’s chief executive officer Danie Meintjes. Its shares touched £10 on October 6 when Mediclinic confirmed news that talks were on about the merger.