Zulekha Hospitals Group, a UAE-based healthcare group, is planning expansion and restructuring its affairs in the UAE and the Indian subcontinent.

Clyde & Co, a leading law firm in the Middle East, is advising Zulekha on the restructure as well as on obtaining a $24 million convertible loan facility from the IFC, a member of the World Bank Group.

Zulekha plans to utilise the funding provided by the IFC to facilitate its expansion plans in India and to effect energy-related improvements to existing facilities in the UAE, a statement said.

The transaction constitutes the first institutional investment into the Zulekha Group, which currently employs over 1,000 staff and treats over 550,000 patients per year.

The team from Clyde & Co advising Zulekha was led by Dubai-based corporate partner, Abhi Jalan. Clyde & Co's associate firm in India, ALMT Legal, advised on Indian regulatory aspects related to the transaction.

'This transaction has demonstrated the value addition offered by Clyde & Co through its ability to advise on English and UAE law and, together with our associate office in Mumbai, on Indian law,” said Abhi Jalan.

“We are delighted to have had the opportunity to assist the Zulekha Group on a transaction that is of particular significance to the Group's future and will ultimately bring quality and affordable healthcare services to India.'

The Group is proposing to use $21 million of IFC’s $24 million financing package to build a new 189-bed hospital in Nagpur in the Indian state of Maharashtra.

The remaining $3 million will pay for energy efficiency-related expenditure at Zulekha Hospitals Group's Sharjah facility in the UAE, the statement said. – TradeArabia News Service