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Mubadala Said to Be Among Bidders for U.A.E.'s Amana Healthcare

Mubadala Said to Be Among Bidders for U.A.E.'s Amana Healthcare

(Bloomberg) -- Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Investment Co. is among potential bidders for the United Arab Emirates’ privately-held Amana Healthcare, people with knowledge of the matter said.

The fund’s healthcare unit is in advanced talks about the acquisition, the people said, asking not to be identified because the discussions are private. Amana, which operates in Abu Dhabi and Al Ain, has also drawn interest from other large healthcare providers and investors, some of the people said.

Bank of America Corp. was hired to work on the sale that could value the business at about $400 million, people said in 2016. Amana hopes to close a deal by the end of the year, some of the people said. A representative for Amana didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment, while Mubadala declined to comment.

Demand for private health care in the Middle East has been increasing with mandatory health insurance for the expats who make up the majority of the population, luring international investors to look at opportunities. Abu Dhabi’s NMC Health planned to bid for Saudi Arabian Airlines’ healthcare business, its founder said last June. Mediclinic International Plc agreed to combine with Al Noor Hospitals Group Plc.

Amana was founded in 2013 and provides services including long-term acute care, rehabilitation and respite care, according to its website. Gulf Capital, an Abu Dhabi-based alternative asset manager, made an undisclosed investment in the company in 2014.

--With assistance from Mahmoud Habboush.

To contact the reporters on this story: Dinesh Nair in London at dnair5@bloomberg.net;Archana Narayanan in Dubai at anarayanan16@bloomberg.net;Matthew Martin in Dubai at mmartin128@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Stefania Bianchi at sbianchi10@bloomberg.net, Jon Menon

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