Jeddah, Saudi Arabia – 15 February 2015: Alkhabeer Capital, a leading asset management and investment firm based in Saudi Arabia, announced today that its fund “ALKHABEER HEALTHCARE PRIVATE EQUITY FUND I” has acquired a majority stake in Eed Group, a Saudi-based integrated healthcare provider.

Established in 2001, Eed Group is one of the leading vertically integrated healthcare groups in Saudi Arabia. The Group initially operated as an independent healthcare provider focusing on aesthetics and outpatient specialty primary care services and has recently expanded into additional services such as a pharmacy business, medical equipment supply and third party management and operations. Alkhabeer Healthcare Private Equity Fund I is a Shari’a compliant and closed-ended investment fund which was launched in Q4 2014 and is offered by way of private placement, in line with Investment Fund Regulations.

Commenting on the new partnership with the Eed family, Ahmed S. Ghouth, Deputy CEO at Alkhabeer Capital said: “Eed Group is a successful business that has a solid track record in Saudi Arabia’s healthcare sector. Our team is excited about working with Eed Group’s management to implement a focused and ambitious growth strategy for Eed Group to become one of the leading healthcare providers in the MENA region within the coming 3-5 years.”

As the largest healthcare market in the region, Saudi Arabia provides considerable growth opportunities, especially for private healthcare providers that currently account only for 32% of the local market. According to Ministry of Finance, Saudi Arabia’s budget appointment to health and social affairs expanded to a CAGR of 15.2% during 2010-2014 to reach SAR 108 billion in 2014. In addition to supportive demographic trends, the healthcare market is also expected to benefit from government initiatives such as health insurance for expatriates, private sector employees and pilgrims.

Eed Group was founded by Prof. Mohammad Deeb Eed, a highly regarded medical practitioner in the Saudi healthcare market and one of the pioneers of aesthetics in the Kingdom. His expertise and reputation have allowed him to develop Eed Group into one of the most distinguished brands in the Saudi healthcare industry. Prof. Eed said: “Eed Group has a strong brand name in Saudi Arabia and an ambitious management team who look forward to working with Alkhabeer Capital towards achieving our combined goals. We are well positioned to cater to the increasing demand for quality healthcare services, which are driven by the Kingdom’s sound economic fundamentals and its growing population with increasing medical needs. Our team is confident that Alkhabeer’s partnership will help facilitate and lead the growth of our business in the MENA region.”

Alkhabeer Capital is an asset management and investment firm authorized by the Capital Market Authority (license number 07074-37).