Turkey's leading healthcare provider partners with Abraaj Capital to expand services in MENASA

Acibadem Healthcare Services is Turkey's leading healthcare provider, to support its ongoing expansion in Turkey and establish the company's presence in the Middle East.

Almond AS, a 50:50 joint holding company formed by Abraaj Capital and Mehmet Ali Aydinlar, one of the founders and the Chief Executive Officer of Acibadem, recently acquired a 69.6 per cent stake in the Turkish firm.

Abraaj Capital also acquired a 50 per cent stake in leading Turkish health insurance company, Acibadem Sigorta, from Mr. Aydinlar. Abraaj Capital's investment was made through its $2bn Infrastructure and Growth Capital Fund (IGCF).

Acibadem, the only healthcare institution whose shares are traded on the Istanbul Stock Exchange, was founded in 1991 and is part of a premium integrated healthcare platform that provides secondary and tertiary private healthcare services, laboratory services, health and life insurance, hospital project management and hospital facilities management services. Its credentials include accreditation from Joint Commission International (JCI) and affiliation with Harvard Medical International. Acibadem Healthcare Services operates six premium hospitals with a bed capacity in excess of 700, two out-patient clinics, a central laboratory, a genetic and cell therapy lab, an ophthalmology center and five specialised medical centres. It is currently building another eight hospitals, which will take the total number of beds to 1,595.

The partnership between Acibadem and Abraaj Capital will accelerate the development of the healthcare group in Turkey and facilitate the long-term expansion of its healthcare services in the MENASA region, where the existing supply of high-quality medical services is generally insufficient.

There are currently twice as many physicians per 1,000 people in the 30 countries within the OECD than there are in Turkey and in the GCC, and nearly three times the available hospital beds.

In the GCC states alone, demand for treatment is expected to grow more than two-fold in the next 20 years, to approximately $60bn per annum by 2025.

Regional demand for healthcare services is being driven by a range of factors, including high levels of population growth, changing socio-demographics, prevalence of health risk factors, medical innovations and increasing insurance spend. In response to this growing demand, governments in the Middle East are increasingly focused on the provision of broadly available, high-quality services.

Today, regional governments are incentivising private-sector participation by creating an environment and regulatory framework conducive to investment in the sector. Private-sector organisations, such as Acibadem, will therefore play an increasingly important role in providing high-quality healthcare services for the fast-growing MENASA region.

Abraaj Capital's entry into the healthcare sector is in line with the objectives of its Infrastructure and Growth Capital Fund, which seeks to address the infrastructure requirements of the MENASA region in various sectors, including transportation, education, water, manufacturing, petrochemicals, power and utilities, and healthcare.

"Historically, governments in the MENASA region have largely shouldered alone the burden of healthcare provision," said Arif Naqvi, Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Abraaj Capital.

"Given the high population growth rates, lower infant mortality rates and increased life expectancies, the need for the expansion of high-quality healthcare services has never been greater. Going forward, without private investment, the healthcare industry in the region will not be able to keep pace with this increasing demand.

"For nearly two decades, Acibadem has provided healthcare services to millions of people in Turkey," Naqvi added. "This investment significantly enhances the ability of Acibadem to expand its world-class services to the Middle East. At the same time, it demonstrates the importance Abraaj Capital places on Turkey, an increasingly prosperous nation of more than 71 million, and in particular the Turkish healthcare sector. We are extremely pleased to announce such an important diversification of our portfolio as we work with Acibadem to expand the provision of high-quality healthcare services across Turkey and the wider MENASA region."

"We were able to identify the potential of the Turkish healthcare sector and to grow aggressively while maintaining the highest clinical standards. Our intention is to continue to expand in Turkey. We recognise, however, the signal opportunity to meet the healthcare needs of the people of the Middle East and have been receiving patients from the region, especially Bahrain, for some years now. We will now strive to duplicate what we have achieved in Turkey," said Mehmet Ali Aydinlar, Acibadem's founder and Chief Executive Officer.

"The partnership with Abraaj provides us with both expansion capital and the benefit of an unparalleled regional knowledge and network, and we are confident that, together, Acibadem and Abraaj Capital can help the people of the region live longer, healthier lives."