Financially distressed AAR Healthcare unit in Tanzania put under liquidation

AAR Healthcare Tanzania Ltd. was placed under liquidation effective April 22, as the healthcare provider signals an exit after a decade-long presence in Tanzania.

Reduced visitor numbers at its eight clinics in Tanzania triggered the liquidation. Heightened financial troubles worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic also made it difficult for the company to meet its obligations to employees and creditors.

A statement from its Kenya-based parent company in March made the liquidation of the Tanzanian subsidiary inevitable. The group said it would no longer support the financial requirements of AAR Healthcare Tanzania or provide bailouts for its operations.

In line with this decision, the company’s board of directors resolved to initiate a creditors’ voluntary winding-up process. It involved converging a meeting of the company’s creditors to formally appoint the liquidators on April 22.

EastAfrican reported the nomination of joint liquidators Nelson Emmanuel Msuya and David Timothy Tarimo of PricewaterhouseCoopers by the board. They have taken over the company’s assets and are receiving claims under the ensuing circumstances.

The liquidators notified the public and creditors to send forward any claims against the company to allow them to be carefully adjudicated and considered as the defunct healthcare company’s assets are redistributed.

About AAR Healthcare Holdings

AAR Healthcare Tanzania Ltd. is a subsidiary of AAR Healthcare Holdings Ltd., a Kenya-based healthcare company that commenced operations in 1984.

AAR Holdings is one of the largest outpatient healthcare services in East Africa, running a network of 18 medical centers in Kenya and eight clinics across Tanzania, following expansion into the country in 2007.

In 2011, AAR Holdings’ shareholders resolved to separate the business into two distinct units, AAR Healthcare and AAR Insurance. Eight years later, its insurance wing exited Tanzania.

The healthcare company has an operational footprint in Uganda and Kigali, where it launched in 1994 and 2005 respectively.