Arcapita Group Holdings, the global alternative investments firm, and Bahrain Mumtalakat Holding Company, the sovereign wealth fund of Bahrain, announced the sale of their stake in NAS Neuron Health Services LLC, a leading provider of outsourced medical claims processing services in the GCC, to a leading US-based Fortune 500 company. The successful investment has exceeded target returns over a three-year holding period. In 2017, Arcapita and Mumtalakat partnered to acquire an equity stake in NAS United Healthcare Services LLC. Over the past three years, the consortium supported the company's execution of a series of organic and inorganic growth initiatives, including the business combination with another major UAE third-party administrator (TPA), Neuron LLC, the implementation of a variety of strategic initiatives to drive customer growth and reduce costs, and the roll-out of healthcare technology services among its clients. Today NAS Neuron is one of the largest private TPAs of medical claims in the GCC, serving over 1.3 million lives across the GCC region. Atif A. Abdulmalik, Arcapita's chief executive officer, commented, "We are pleased to have achieved this exit in the current economic environment. The UAE and GCC's private health insurance market has been undergoing a major transformation over the past few years as governments have sought to shift healthcare expenditures from the public to the private sector. "NAS Neuron has been a beneficiary of this trend and the company has successfully navigated the TPA market by rebalancing its portfolio mix, maintaining a strong technology backbone, and improving operating efficiency." He added: "Healthcare and wellness are among Arcapita's focus areas for both our private equity and real estate platforms given the demographic tailwinds supporting this sector. We plan to continue focusing on defensive sectors that are supported by long-term market fundamentals. In addition, the success of our investment in NAS Neuron highlights the resilience of the UAE and GCC private equity market as well as the attractiveness of the region's healthcare sector to global investors despite a challenging economic environment." Khalid Al Rumaihi, chief executive officer of Mumtalakat said, "Our strategic partnership with Arcapita enabled us to support and witness NAS Neuron's progress into one of the leading players in the GCC health sector with a solid management structure, and a clear vision to continue on its growth trajectory. "The successful culmination and positive outcome of this venture is a validation of the robust and sound nature of our collective business strategy, and is in line with our efforts towards maintaining a diverse and sustainable portfolio." Umair Nizami, group chief executive officer of NAS Neuron, commented, "Backed by strong strategic shareholders, including Arcapita and Mumtalakat, we successfully brought together the strengths of NAS and Neuron to benefit the wider healthcare industry. "I am personally grateful for the trust placed in me by the shareholders, and I look forward to continuing to enhance our value proposition so that our customers enjoy easy access to high quality and affordable healthcare across the globe." — SG
