UAE-based hospital operator NMC Healthcare has appointed Rothschild as a financial adviser to help it explore strategic options for its shareholders, including an initial public offering.

The company will also look into other options including the sale of the business, and appoint a second financial adviser in “due course”, NMC said in a statement on Wednesday.

The latest move follows the completion of NMC’s restructuring process overseen by the Abu Dhabi Global Market in 2022, and the exit of 34 operating companies from administration to become subsidiaries of a new group.

“We are pleased to explore strategic alternatives for the company at an exciting time in the UAE,” NMC Healthcare chief executive David Hadley, said.

“The market is witnessing rapid population growth and presents an attractive opportunity to provide high-quality medical services across diverse and changing demographics.”

NMC was founded by BR Shetty in 1975. It grew from a single clinic to become the UAE’s biggest privately owned healthcare operators, employing thousands of people.

The company’s shares were listed on the London Stock Exchange in 2012 and at its peak in 2018, it was valued at £8.58 billion ($10.9 billion).

However, the business crashed after a report from short seller Muddy Waters in December 2019 alleged that the company had inflated the value of its assets and understated its debt.

An independent investigation uncovered more than $4.4 billion of previously unreported debt, leading to the company being placed into administration in April 2020.

Last year, a lawsuit was filed against Mr Shetty and its former chief executive Prasanth Manghat in a $4 billion case alleging fraud.

Legal claims were filed in the UK and Abu Dhabi against Mr Shetty, Mr Manghat and the Bank of Baroda, said Richard Fleming, managing director of Alvarez & Marsal Europe and joint administrator of NMC and NMC Healthcare, at the time.

In 2021, Mr Shetty also filed a case in the courts in New York accusing former directors, two banks and the company’s former auditors of conspiring to “artificially inflate the financials of NMC” and other group companies.

NMC Healthcare comprises 85 hospitals, specialty clinics and medical facilities under several brands serving more than 5.5 million patients annually, with 12,000 employees.

Earlier this year, NMC and Dubai Islamic Bank signed an out-of-court settlement to resolve all legal disputes between them and any associated third parties.

Updated: June 12, 2024, 1:10 PM