The bidding war for Alex Medical appears to be cooling down, with Alexandria Medical Investment subsidiary TAT Medical Service being the latest to pull its offer to acquire up to 100% of Alex Medical Services, according to a Financial Regulatory Authority statement (pdf). The company notified the regulator yesterday, according to the statement. TAT was offering EGP 49.04 per share of Alex Medical, upping its bid from the EGP 45.53 it had initially offered in May, which had put it in the pole position to secure the acquisition.Background: TAT had submitted a mandatory tender offer (MTO) to acquire Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank’s (ADCB) 51.5% stake in Alex Medical in May, with an eye to snap up 100% of the company. After raising its bid in June, a consortium made up of Saudi’s Tawasol Holdings and private equity firm LimeVest then upped its bid to EGP 52 apiece, raising the purchase price to EGP 740 mn, and bumping TAT from the top position.Where does this leave the battle for Alex Medical? TAT is the second to exit the heated (and protracted) bidding war for the company, after Speed Medical pulled out in May. The bidders still standing are Cleopatra Hospitals Group (which just purchased a brownfield project in East Cairo), UAE’s Global One Healthcare, Nile Misr, healthcare investment firm Seha Capital, and the consortium of Tawasol Holdings and LimeVest. Last we heard, Nile Misr Healthcare, which represents diagnostics lab Nile Scan, cautioned that it might pull out of the race as well due to the purchase price being driven up.

Healthcare investment firm Seha Capital is the latest to throw its hat in the ring for Alexandria Medical Services as Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank(ADCB) looks to offload its 51.54% stake, Alex Medical said in an EGX disclosure (pdf).The company is now officially being courted by four bidders: EGX-listed Cleopatra Hospitals Group (CHG), Alexandria for Medical Investment Company (the majority shareholder of Mabaret Al Asafra Hospitals Group in which South Africa’s Tana Capital holds a minority stake), a consortium of Speed Medical, Sharif El Akhdar’s LimeVest and Saudi’s Tawasol Holdings (already a 26% shareholder in Alex Medical), as well as Seha.Investors offered an average price of EGP 50.77 per share, according to the disclosure, with sell-side advisor, CI Capital saying it had received non-binding letters of intent from the four bidders.Final binding offers are expected to be submitted to CI Capital by the third week of May, after bidders wrap up due diligence. The closing date will soon be determined by ADCB, who will be exiting the company.Advisors: EFG Hermes is acting as CHG’s financial advisor, while Arqaam Capital is advising the Mabaret Al Asafra-Tana consortium (aka Alexandria Healthcare Investments). Zilla Capital is advising Mabaret Al Asafra’s shareholders. Prime Capital is advising the Tawasol-Speed Medical-LimeVest consortium. CI Capital is the sell-side advisor.Background: Reports in the local press last month suggested that an offer is on the table from the Mabaret Al Asafra-Tana consortium that values Alex Medical at nearly EGP 650 mn. The Tawasol-Speed Medical-LimeVest consortium had also reportedly made an offer earlier this month of EGP 38.09 apiece.