(Bloomberg) -- Amanat Holdings PJSC, a Dubai-based health care and education investment firm, has picked EFG Hermes and First Abu Dhabi Bank PJSC to manage the planned initial public offering of its health care unit in Abu Dhabi, according to people familiar with the matter.

Amanat Healthcare’s offering could raise about $200 million and may happen as soon as this year, the people said, asking not to be identified as the information isn’t public.

Details of the offering are preliminary and may change, the people said. Representatives for EFG Hermes, FAB and Amanat declined to comment.

Amanat, which is listed on the Dubai Financial Market, said in March that it would consolidate the assets of its health care vertical into Amanat Healthcare and prepare the unit for an IPO, without giving further details. Its shares rose as much as 5.8% on Friday.

The Amanat Healthcare IPO would be a rare example of a privately-owned company in the Middle East carving out a unit. State-owned energy companies in the region have been on a drive to list their units, but it has been less common among private sector firms.

Still, Persian Gulf’s IPO spree, which started in late 2021, has slowed this year as the region’s markets came off earlier highs on the back of lower oil prices. About $4.3 billion has been raised through listings in the Middle East this year, a 69% drop from a year ago, data compiled by Bloomberg show. 

Much of the activity has been concentrated in the United Arab Emirates’ capital, Abu Dhabi. With the $2.5 billion IPO of Adnoc Gas earlier this year, about $3.7 billion has been raised via listings in the city, the data show.

Amanat’s health care investments include Cambridge Medical and Rehabilitation Centre and Sukoon, which provides post-acute extended care and critical care, according to its website.

(Updates with share move in fourth paragraph, details in fifth paragraph)

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