News

Amethis supports West Africa’s Leader in the Healthcare Sector

20 November 2015 • reading time:3 mn • News

Amethis is pleased to announce its entry into West Africa’s healthcare market with a minority equity investment in HMAO Group. HMAO is a group composed of clinics and laboratories and is the leader in the healthcare market in the region. Through this transaction, Amethis supports the management’s take-over of the Group which was previously owned by Saham. Saham operates from Morocco all over the continent in the insurance, offshoring, real estate, education sectors as well as in the health sector through its subsidiary Meden Healthcare.

The group manages almost 250 beds and is therefore the biggest market player in the healthcare sector in Côte d’Ivoire. HMAO owns six clinics, a dental clinic and a laboratory: “Polyclinique GMP” which was the first medical facility in the group, “Polyclinique Internationale de l’Indénié”, “Polyclinique des deux Plateaux”, “Polyclinique des Grâces”, “Clinique des Roches” in San Pedro, “Polyclinique du Centre” in Bouaké, a diagnostic centre in Treichville and Franchey d’Esperey, a dental clinic located in Abidjan.

HMAO’s growth has been sponsored and supported by Saham, the majority shareholder since 2014. In less than two years, Saham led an ambitious transformation of HMAO through acquisitions, internal reorganization and the upgrading of the technical facilities, creating a unique asset in West Africa. Saham’s geographical redeployment in North Africa in the healthcare segment offered to Amethis the opportunity to take a minority ownership alongside the management and pursue the development and geographical expansion of the group.

In this partnership, Amethis will support the management in the implementation of an ambitious development strategy:

  • Consolidation and optimisation of the existing network: capacity extension, increase in the number of beds, modernisation of the equipment, namely radiology and function tests.
  • Launch and development of new offers (radiotherapy).
  • Regional expansion with the acquisition of medical facilities in the neighbouring countries.

The Group’s objective is to build an integrated network thus allowing cost-optimisations and centralized functions. The group will be organised as a medical hub and will be on the cutting-edge of medical technology and service.

According to Laurent Demey, Managing Partner of Amethis, “Amethis is very proud to support HMAO in this new phase of its development as well as the ambition of the management to build the healthcare sector’s leader in Francophone Africa”.

With this 10th equity investment, Amethis, along with the very experienced management team, participates to the improvement and enlargement of the healthcare offer in Côte d’Ivoire and the sub-region. Indeed, the medical offer remains largely insufficient compared to the population’s needs.


About Amethis Finance

Amethis Finance is an investment vehicle dedicated to Africa, with a total investment capacity of EUR400m. Amethis Finance has been created by a team of experienced investors and bankers led by Luc Rigouzzo and Laurent Demey and by the Edmond de Rothschild Group. They have been joined by a large group of private investors combining financial institutions and family offices. Amethis Finance is a “one stop shop” which provides all long-term financial instruments (long-term debt, equity and quasi equity investment), with high standards and objectives in terms of development, social and governance criteria.


Contacts (The telephone number provided below is for the exclusive use of journalists and other media representatives.) :

❖ Amethis Finance (www.amethisfinance.com) :
Laurent Demey
Tel: +33 1 56 68 85 65
laurent.demey@amethisfinance.com

Nadia Moukaddem
Tel: +33 1 56 68 85 72
nadia.moukaddem@amethisfinance.com