CareTech cements UAE presence with two further acquisitions
CareTech has accelerated its Middle East expansion with the acquisition of two healthcare firms.
The social care and education provider, which has offices in Guildford, has bought two United Arab Emirates businesses namely the Dmetco-Bayti Group and the Wellness Group.
CareTech's holding company in the UAE, AS Group, has acquired a 70% interest in Dmetco-Bayti paying upfront consideration of £7.3m in cash with a further £3.2m in cash deferred and £1m in cash payable through an earn-out mechanism.
Dmetco-Bayti is a well-established home healthcare provider managing the daily health and social care needs of its patients across the UAE through two home-grown brands titled Dmetco Home Healthcare and Bayti Home Healthcare.
Established in 2012, it provides home healthcare and physiotherapy services in the emirate of Abu Dhabi, primarily to UAE nationals, through a team of over 150 registered healthcare professionals.
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Dmetco-Bayti's revenues are primarily backed by the UAE Government's mandatory health scheme for UAE nationals, Thiqa.
Dmetco-Bayti generated revenue of around £9.4m in 2021. It is expected that the acquisition will be immediately earnings enhancing for CareTech.
The Wellness Group provides integrated physical health consultations and surgical services serving around 7000 patients per month.
Established in 2015 by Shafqat Malik, co-founder and CEO of AS Group, the Abu Dhabi-based firm generated revenue of around £10.8m in 2021.
It is expected that the acquisition will be immediately earnings enhancing for CareTech.
CareTech has acquired a 51% interest in the Wellness Group and is paying an upfront consideration of £8.1m in cash with a further £3.9m in cash deferred
Farouq Sheikh, Executive Chairman of CareTech said: "This is an exciting next step development in our investment in the AS Group as CareTech's platform for growth in the UAE. Dmetco-Bayti and Wellness complement the existing brands of the AS Group and together offer a pathway of specialist health and social care services to an underserved market with favourable growth prospects.
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"Dmetco-Bayti and Wellness will be managed through the AS Group led by Shafqat Malik as CEO with the intention of integrating a number of areas. We look forward to supporting the AS Group to realise our collective vision of being the benchmark for specialist services in the UAE serving individuals with complex needs and disabilities.
"CareTech has established its regional Managing Office in Dubai, and as we invest in regional platforms, the Managing Office will provide strategic oversight to these investments with governance support from CareTech's corporate functions - a model that we are further embedding through these investments."
CareTech began its international expansion in February 2020 by acquiring 51% of the UAE based AS Group.
Shafqat Malik, the CEO and a shareholder of CareTech's subsidiary, AS Group, will take on additional responsibilities for Dmetco-Bayti and Wellness.
Shafqat Malik, CEO of AS Group, commented: "I am delighted to build on the already successful business at AS Group by adding these well-regarded homecare and clinic brands to the portfolio. We warmly welcome the management teams of Wellness and Dmetco-Bayti to the AS Group.
"These new partnerships will mean that our whole person care pathways strategy, successfully deployed in the UK, is gaining momentum in the UAE. The Gulf markets are under served with specialist social care services and therefore provides CareTech, through its AS Group, a platform to create an integrated pathway in the UAE that can also act as a template for the wider region in due course."
