A subsidiary of Abu Dhabi-based Gulf Capital has acquired a 75 per cent stake in a Turkish medical company as it aims to tap into the country's burgeoning healthcare market.
Techno Group Investment Holdings made the multimillion dollar investment in Dogu Tip, a major provider of outsourced diagnostic imaging services in Turkey.
"This is one of the first movements by a Gulf private equity portfolio company into Turkey," said Nabil Kassem, the managing director of operations at Gulf Capital and the Techno Group interim chief executive.
"With the acquisition of Dogu Tip we are adding a very strategic component to the Techno Group business model. It has the proven capability to grow and to operate across a large geography, where it operates centres spanning the vast breadth of Turkey, from Erzurum in the east to Istanbul in the west. With Techno Group's support, Dogu Tip will be able to provide outsourced diagnostic imaging services across the Middle East and North Africa and beyond."
Techno Group hopes to tap into the transformation of Turkey's healthcare sector as it modernises to meet the needs of a booming population as well as rising numbers of medical tourists from abroad.
Between 2004 and 2009, the 10.5 per cent growth in Turkey's healthcare sector outstripped average expansion of 9.5 per cent in overall GDP.
Already the largest chain of medical diagnostic and imaging centres in the Arab world, Egypt-based Techno Group operates 34 diagnostic imaging centres in Egypt, Jordan and the GCC.
The latest acquisition takes the number of Techno Group centres to 39.
"We will be investing $50 million [Dh183.6m] or $60m in the next few months," said Mr Kassem. "We will continue to look at opportunities in countries where we operate, which is Egypt, Turkey and Jordan. We are also looking at several opportunities in North Africa and the Gulf."
In Turkey, Techno Group also hopes to benefit from the growing popularity of public-private partnerships (PPP).
The government is seeking to outsource many of its medical services, a strategy heavily reliant on PPP. The value of PPP in the country is expected to reach $65 billion by next year as part of a focus to raise the quality and efficiency of the healthcare system and improve access to medical services.
