UAE's deal-hungry IHC plans health and IT business IPOs

International Holding Company (IHC) plans to sell 20 per cent of its technology unit in an initial public offering next year, its CEO told Reuters, adding that the UAE's IHC is aiming for a first quarter IPO of Pure Health to raise more than $1 billion.

IHC, which rose from relative obscurity to become the United Arab Emirates' largest publicly traded company worth more than $200 billion, has been on a consolidation and acquisition drive.

This has led to two IHC subsidiaries rounding out the three biggest companies on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX).

Asked about plans for International Technology Holding (ITH), chief executive Syed Basar Shueb said IHC will likely list 20 per cent of it in the third quarter and is in talks with local firms about possible acquisitions by the group born out of IHC's IT sector holdings.

ITH was expected to turn over half a billion dirhams ($136 million) and have $1 billion in assets by the second quarter, Shueb said.

IHC, whose market value is bigger than companies such as Shell, Disney and Nike, has been instrumental in boosting ADX's size amid intensifying competition with Saudi Arabia.

IHC, its subsidiary Alpha Dhabi, ADX's second biggest firm, and other IHC-linked companies have played a leading role in a string of Abu Dhabi IPOs as cornerstone investors.

Pure Health, under Alpha Dhabi, aims to raise more than $1 billion in a first-quarter IPO delayed from this year.

"It will be more than $1 billion, but the size depends on how much we put in the market. I don't think we can go above 10 per cent, otherwise we will pull all the liquidity from market and this will affect the other players," Shueb said.

Pure Health has played a major role in the UAE screening for Covid-19. Its merger with state-owned Abu Dhabi Health Services (SEHA), which Shueb said has almost 24,000 employees, is taking longer than expected, delaying the IPO.

IHC, which completed four IPOs this year and plans a similar number in 2023, has yet to appoint banks for the Pure Health IPO, Shueb said, adding it is considering a possible 2023 IPO of International Energy Holding.

Aaquisitions

This month, IHC's bid to buy a stake in Colombian food producer Nutresa failed as it could not secure the stake size it wanted. Shueb said IHC would continue to look for opportunities in other Latin American countries. — Reuters