Business & Money | Tuesday 4 February, 2020 5:22 am |

Jadwa Investment, a leading regional investment management and advisory firm, announced today the successful completion of its advisory mandate for the privatization of Saudia Medical Services Company (SMS), a subsidiary of Saudi Arabian Airlines. The privatization transaction, for which Jadwa acted as the exclusive financial advisor, was completed through the sale of a majority stake in SMS to Dr. Soliman Abdel Kader Fakeeh Hospital Company, and constitutes the first privatization of a government-owned healthcare entity under Vision 2030.

Saudia Medical Services provides healthcare services to over 140 thousand employees and dependents of Saudi Arabian Airlines and its subsidiaries. SMS is also the largest provider of aviation and occupational medicine in Saudi Arabia, as accredited by the Saudi General Authority of Civil Aviation and the US Federal Aviation Administration, and serves over 15 thousand pilots and cabin crew in the Kingdom. 

As part of the privatization mandate, Jadwa provided advisory services on several key aspects of the transaction, including the corporatization and restructuring of SMS from a cost center that was operated by Saudi Arabian Airlines into an independent, commercially-managed healthcare entity which will provide healthcare services at the highest standards to the beneficiaries of Saudi Arabian Airlines. 

On this occasion, Dr. Mohammed Hashim Bafaqeeh, Chief Executive Officer of SMS commented, “SMS was established in 1970 to provide medical care to the employees of Saudi Airlines and their dependents. Saudi Airlines retained Jadwa to advise on and manage the privatization of SMS. The efforts of Jadwa since the start of this project contributed to establishing the pillars that led to the ultimate success of this privatization initiative, and resulted in a strategic partnership with one of the Kingdom’s most prominent healthcare providers.” 

Tariq Al-Sudairy, Managing Director and CEO of Jadwa Investment said, “We are proud to have worked with Saudia and SMS on this landmark initiative, and towards completing the first privatization transaction of a government-owned healthcare entity under the government’s privatization program. This transaction exemplifies the promising opportunities for the private sector to play a key role in realizing Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030.”