UAE group to acquire two Atlas hospitals in Oman – report

A UAE-based hospital group is reportedly in the final stages of acquiring two Atlas hospitals in Oman for around OMR10m ($25.97m)

Times of Oman cited a senior official from the group as saying the deal for the properties in Ruwi and Ghubrah would be closed “in the coming months” and an announcement would be made soon.

“We are in the final stages now. Some more paperwork has to be completed,” he was quoted as saying.

The hospitals have a combined 100 beds and 300 staff on payroll, according to the publication.

The acquirer was not named but the Oman Daily Observer linked Abu Dhabi-based NMC Health with the properties in March last year.

Newspaper advertisements called for clients to settle claims with the group earlier this month as the sale decision had been made.

This followed the arrest of Atlas group chairman and founder M.M. Ramachandran in the UAE in August 2015 after Atlas Jewellery defaulted on loans worth about $136m.

Read: Troubled Atlas Jewellery seeks time to repay $136m debts

Late last year, NMC Health announced plans to buy the Al Zahra Hospital in Sharjah for $560m.

Read: UAE’s NMC Health buys Sharjah hospital for $560m