Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB) said it received a binding bid for its 51.54 percent stake in Egypt-based Alexandria Medical Services Company (New Medical Centre) valued at $41.5 million.
ADCB said in a statement that the binding offer from TAT Medical Services, a subsidiary of Alexandria Healthcare Investments, is conditional on receiving approval from Egypt’s Ministry of Healthcare and Population.
ADCB remarked that “the bank is in the process of entering into a commitment letter with the potential offeror.”
This is dependent on the company receiving regulatory approval and filing a mandatory tender offer for the remaining shares at a price at least equal to the $64.3 per share offered to the lender.
On December 31, last year, ADCB announced that it had purchased a 51.54 percent ownership in the company from the former owner Mr. BR Shetty for $389.5 million in exchange for a debt due to it by one of Mr. Shetty’s companies. It hired local investment firm CI Capital to sell its share in January.
It went through a process that resulted in several non-binding offers. The lender stated that it had only received one other offer, which was rejected because it did not include a price. ADCB also stated that this anonymous bidder or other potential bidders were still eligible to submit mandatory offers to Egypt’s Financial Regulatory Authority for Alexandria Medical Services’ shares.
Following action filed in the UK courts in December to freeze assets owned by Mr. Shetty and other former NMC Health shareholders and directors, ADCB obtained a freezing order on Mr. Shetty’s assets through the Abu Dhabi Global Market in April.
Mr. Shetty established NMC Health in 1975 with a single clinic and expanded it to become the UAE’s largest healthcare provider, with operations in 19 countries. The group’s largest creditor is ADCB.
