The QIA is said to be seeking to profit from growth prospects in the healthcare industry and also diversify its investments.
Bloomberg/Dubai
The Qatar Investment Authority, which owns stakes in banks including Barclays and Credit Suisse Group, plans to start a fund to invest in healthcare companies, two people with knowledge of the matter said.
The sovereign wealth fund is in talks to appoint a financial adviser to assist with the process, one of the people said, asking not to be identified as the information is private. The QIA is seeking to profit from growth prospects in the healthcare industry and also diversify its investments, the people said.
The size of the fund hasn’t yet been decided, they said.
Qatar’s plans coincide with an increase in merger and acquisition activity in healthcare, with pharmaceutical takeovers rising to more than $91bn in the last 12 months. That is more than three times the volume in the same period a year earlier, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Valeant Pharmaceuticals International offered to buy Allergan, maker of the Botox wrinkle treatment, earlier this week in a deal valued at about $46bn with support from Bill Ackman’s fund Pershing Square Capital Management. Novartis announced transactions valued at as much as $28.5bn on April 22, together marking the biggest industry deal since 2009, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
The wealth fund, which controls more than $100bn of assets, is also ready to boost investments in the UK, Ahmad al-Sayed, chief executive officer, said in a Bloomberg Television interview in February.
