DUBAI (Zawya Dow Jones)–Abu Dhabi-based private equity firm Gulf Capital said Tuesday its portfolio company TechnoGroup has bought a strategic stake in Consultant Radiology Centres, or CRC, as the firm builds up its healthcare portfolio and taps into Saudi Arabia’s $20 billion healthcare spending.
The acquisition of CRC, Saudi’s largest chain of diagnostic imaging centers, gives TechnoGroup the largest regional chain of diagnostic imaging centers in the Middle East. TechnoGroup will be operating 17 centers in Egypt and Saudi Arabia.
“This latest investment is in line with Gulf Capital’s strategy of executing majority acquisitions in defensive yet fast-growing sectors in the region,” the firm said in an e-mailed statement.
The statement didn’t give a size or value for the stake.
Healthcare spending in Saudi Arabia, the Gulf region’s largest healthcare market, grew 18% to $20 billion last year, the statement said.
Gulf Capital will also look to invest in the education sector which, like healthcare, “clearly benefits from the regional population boom, increased government spending and growing insurance sector,” chief executive Karim El Solh said.
The company in February acquired a 75% interest in Egypt-based TechnoGroup, which operates its centers under the name TechnoScan.
Gulf Capital said it is now investing its $533 million GC Equity Fund II, closed in February with capital raised from regional and international investors.