Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/922844
maltatoday SUNDAY 7 JANUARY 2018 2 News Vitals Global Healthcare sale • Who are the players? Mark Pawley is a director of the parent company of Oxley Capital, an equity firm based in Singapore Asia Harimau Investments [BVI] Bluestone Special Situation 4 [BVI] Bluestone Investments Malta est. 9 Dec 2014 • Gozo International Medicare • Gozo Global Healthcare est. 15 Dec 2014 Crossrange Holdings est. 12 Dec 2014 Pivot Holdings Mark Pawley's Bluestone Investments Malta owns 70% of Crossrange Holdings together with Shaukat Ali's Pivot Holdings (30%), which in turn owns companies Gozo International Medicare and Gozo Global Healthcare All of the Vitals group companies, as well as all Shaukat Ali's companies were registered with the Paola accountancy firm Crossbow Services, which is owned by Reno Spiteri. Businessman Shaukat Ali is shown here in a photo posted on Instagram of a 2011 meeting with President George Abela. Since then, his name has cropped up in a meeting he held with Vitals front-man Ram Tumuluri in Norway, and in a failed bid to acquire St James Hospital. He also owns the following companies: • Shalimar Holdings • Global Assets Holdings • Medical Health Management & Consulting 70% ownership Shaukat Ali, a businessman with links to both Mark Pawley and Vitals CEO Ram Tumuluri 100% ownership Vitals Global Healthcare Ltd est. 13 May 2015 100% ownership Oxley Capital says it has no group interest in the Vitals Global Healthcare concession in Malta 30% ownership George Y. Filmeridis, an executive director of Oxley Capital, told MaltaToday that neither Oxley Capital, nor any of its subsidiaries have any involvement or interest with VGH and any of its undertakings, in Malta or elsewhere. "Mr Pawley is NOT a director of Oxley Capital, only a director of its parent company... Mr Pawley is the only person associated with Oxley who is involved with VGH's activities in Malta. No Oxley group entity has any equity interest or expects any monetary benefit from any of VGH's activities in Malta or elsewhere. Moreover, neither Oxley Capital nor any of its subsidiaries have any interest to establish a foothold in Malta." Vitals Global Healthcare, which has a 30-year conces- sion on three state hospitals, is negotiating the sale of the concession after just 21 months to Steward Health Care, America's largest pri- vate healthcare company, which is owned by Cerberus Capital Management, a pri- vate equity and investment firm MaltaToday has previously reported that Vitals director Ram Tumuluri (pictured in news cutting) and Shaukat Ali, had pitched a €50 million renewable energy project to a Norwegian CEO. The two entrepreneurs were looking to sell a 24% stake in a renewable energy project. "They also spoke of Vitals Global Healthcare and what they were doing in Malta," the chief officer said, who was surprised at how the businessmen had come up with a €2.8 billion valuation of their Malta healthcare PPP. "They valued VGH at €2.8 billion, so it made sense... It was a good presentation and they liked to talk, but the figures they talked about were unrealistic." In November 2015, Shaukat Ali's Medical Health Management & Consulting (MHMC) was negotiating the sale of St James Capua hospital. The sale was not concluded. On the margins of Vitals Press reports Oxley disassociation CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Vitals did not confirm what role government played in the agreement for the transfer of the concession. A representative for tourism min- ister Konrad Mizzi, who is responsible for the state private-public investments arm Projects Malta, oversaw an agreement for the transfer of the concession. Complicating matters for VGH was the fact that its former CEO Armin Ernst, who left his post in September, had now taken up the posi- tion of president of Steward Health Care. The government was aware of talks between VGH and Steward three months before the agree- ment was announced just before Christmas, with health minister Chris Fearne admitting it was Ernst who had suggested Steward should purchase the 30-year hospitals concession. Yesterday a VGH spokesperson denied sug- gestions by MaltaToday that it never intended honouring its obligations at law so that it could sell off the concession to Steward. "For the past months VGH has worked togeth- er with Partners Healthcare towards achieving the healthcare targets enshrined in the conces- sion agreements… VGH remains committed to delivering the concession as agreed with the government of Malta. The negotiations with Steward Health Care were not planned, howev- er, VGH is entertaining these discussions in the interest of the healthcare concession in Malta." VGH blames planning delays VGH also blamed delays in obtaining plan- ning approval as the reason why the company had delivered its milestones late in the day. The spokesperson said that contrary to previous me- dia reports, VGH did not default on any of its obligations as laid down in the concession. "The concession agreement clearly states that the milestones are subject to the obtainment of construction permits by mid-2016. "The contract also states that if said permits are not obtained by then, the concessionaire shall not be deemed to be in default of the mile- stones and the penalties shall not apply. CONTINUES ON PAGE 3 "This was tied to the government's original Vitals still negotiating sale price with Steward 100% ownership