Saudi healthcare group SMC Hospitals hires banks for IPO, sources say (updated)
20/02/2025 09:02
(Updates with EFG Hermes response)
By Federico Maccioni
DUBAI, Feb 20 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabian healthcare group
SMC Hospitals has hired banks for a potential initial public
offering (IPO) on the local bourse, three sources with knowledge
of the matter told Reuters.
The hospital operator has picked banks including EFG Hermes
and SNB Capital to work on the offering, two of the sources
said, asking not to be named because the matter is not public.
One of the sources said that SMC Hospitals, which operates
two hospitals in the capital city Riyadh with one more under
construction, is looking to announce plans for the IPO before
the summer.
EFG Hermes declined to comment, while SMC Hospitals and SNB
Capital did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Stock markets in the Gulf have seen a wave of IPOs in recent
years, aided by government efforts to diversify their economies
away from oil.
Saudi Arabia, which is investing heavily in sectors like
healthcare under its Vision 2030 economic transformation plan,
recorded the largest volume of offerings in the region last
year.
Healthcare firm Fakeeh Care Group 4017.SE raised around
$760 million in 2024's largest offering in the kingdom, while
Almoosa Health 4018.SE debuted last month.
Saudi Arabia's stock exchange 1111.SE expects a record
year for listings, CEO Mohammed Al-Rumaih told Reuters earlier
this week, adding 15 IPO applications have been approved.
(Reporting by Federico Maccioni, editing by Kirsten Donovan)
((Federico.maccioni@thomsonreuters.com; +971 527370852;))