Abu Dhabi-based investment firm Waha Capital is eyeing acquisitions worth up to AED500m ($136.2 million) in the UAE’s healthcare and education sectors as part of its diversification strategy, its CEO has said.
“We are bullish in those spaces – healthcare and education. We would like to grow that in the next three to five years. Stage two of our diversification strategy is at play right now,” Salem al Noaimi, Chief Executive of Waha Capital, told Reuters in an interview after the company announced its third-quarter results.
The company has earmarked AED250m for investments in healthcare and another AED250m for education, he said.
Waha, on Monday, posted a quarterly profit of AED107.1m ($29.2 million), compared with AED27.5m for the year-ago period.
In June, Waha bought a 97 percent stake in privately-owned UAE firm Anglo Arabian Healthcare for an undisclosed amount.
The firm is evaluating various options for acquisitions in the education space that could include buying schools or companies that own schools, al Noaimi said.
Waha, in which Abu Dhabi government investment fund Mubadala owns 16 percent, is also looking at launching its second infrastructure fund with a size of up to $500 million. Waha is the co-sponsor of the first fund, the $300 million MENA Infrastructure Fund, together with Fajr Capital and HSBC Bank Middle East. The fund is fully invested.
“Fund 1 was successful and there’s an opportunity here in a MENA focused fund. It’s a very stable, solid business,” said al Noaimi, adding the partners are yet to be finalized.
As part of its investment strategy, Waha could also increase its stake in aircraft leasing firm AerCap Holdings which it has been growing. Waha raised its stake from 21.3 percent to 26.3 percent by choosing not to participate in AerCap’s share buyback programme last year.
“If they do another share buyback, this could continue,” he said.
Waha said income from its portfolio companies, which include AerCap, rose to AED84.9m during the third quarter from AED49.5m for the same period last year.
Waha plans to continue investing in the capital markets, which has been contributing to its top line growth. While its main portfolio will continue on the debt side, it is also eyeing equities to have exposure to this class.
“We see opportunities for growth in the long run in equities,” al Noaimi said.
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