NMC Health share price soars 42 per cent on stake sale report
Shares in FTSE 100 listed NMC looked healthy this morning as they rose by as much as 42 per cent after reports that two companies were looking to buy a major stake in the firm.
The the 40 per cent stake is owned by two Emirati businessmen and could sell for $1.9bn (£1.6bn) to two Chinese firms, Reuters reported this morning citing unnamed sources.
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Reuters did not report the names of the two companies, but said that one of them was backed by China’s Fosun.
Shares rocketed as high as 42 per cent up on yesterday’s close, before giving back some gains to trade up 27 per cent to 2,460p.
The news came as NMC Health today reported its results for the six months ending 30 June.
Revenues grew 32.6 per cent to $1.2bn, while earnings before interest, tax depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) jumped 22.5 per cent to $276.3m.
Management reiterated May’s guidance figures which predict revenue will hit between $2.50bn and $2.54bn, while Ebitda will reach $575m to $585m.
Chief executive Prasanth Manghat said the company had performed well in a “challenging environment.”
“We continue to view the future with confidence,” he added.
A potential deal would see the Chinese companies buying the stakes from the chair of Abu Dhabi-based investment firm KBBO Group, Khalifa Butti Bin Omeir, and businessman Saeed Bin Butti Al Qebaisi, based in the United Arab Emirates.
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The men bought the stake for $1bn in 2011.
However the company’s founder and biggest shareholder – Indian billionaire Bavaguthu Raghuram Shetty – will not sell his 19 per cent stake, sources told Reuters.
Main image credit: Getty