Egypt-based healthcare services provider, Integrated Diagnostics Holdings (IDH), has signed a sale and purchase agreement (SPA) to acquire the majority stake in the Islamabad Diagnostic Centre (IDC), one of Pakistan’s largest integrated diagnostics providers.
IDH is a leading consumer healthcare group in the Middle East and Africa, with operations in Egypt, Jordan, Sudan and Nigeria, operating under the leadership of CEO Hend El-Sherbini.
The group offers more than 1,400 international-standard diagnostics tests, with a branch network of 483 labs across four countries, making it the largest diagnostics provider in Egypt.
A press statement issued by the El-Sherbini-led healthcare services provider revealed that it offered Evercare Group, an emerging markets healthcare delivery platform, $72.35 million in exchange for a 50-percent stake in Base Consultancy, the holding company of IDC.
The transaction will be concluded in the first half of 2022 and see IDH take control of IDC in line with its strategic expansion plans for South Asia.
The investment in the leading Pakistan-based diagnostics provider will place the Egyptian healthcare services company in the position to leverage its asset diversification strategies and boost revenue and earnings.
The proposed acquisition is a step forward in the group’s geographic expansion strategy to penetrate new, fast-growing emerging markets characterized by favorable demographics and an under-penetrated diagnostics sector.
El-Sherbini said the proposed acquisition fully aligns with IDH’s regional expansion strategy, which targets high-growth markets where the group’s platform is well-suited to deliver an exceptional quality of care to a large and growing patient base.
“IDC is an ideal partner for IDH, and with the combination of our two companies we are set to generate remarkable value and future growth opportunities for both parties,” she said.
IDC Founder, Chairman and CEO Rizwan Uppal said: “I am delighted to welcome and have the opportunity to partner with a mission-aligned regional champion like IDH to serve more patients, create more employment opportunities across our centers, and usher in a new phase of growth.”
The announcement of the deal comes nearly one month after the Egypt-based healthcare services provider reported a 206-percent increase in its earnings for the first nine months of 2021, leading the group to post EGP1.15 billion ($73.05 million) in profit for the period — its highest-ever.
The triple-digit growth in revenue and profit in the period under review was underpinned by a strong recovery in its core business and robust contributions from COVID-19-related test offerings in Egypt and Jordan.
IDH’s performance indicator revealed that the group benefited from a 33-percent growth in its total tests and a 70-percent increase in the revenue it made per test in the nine-month period.
