Middle East 5

Dubai, Brigdepoint plan $1.4 bln Euromedic bid

Dubai International Capital (DIC) and private-equity firm Bridgepoint plan to bid jointly for healthcare group Euromedic International for about 700 million pounds ($1.4 billion), the London Times said on Sunday.

DIC, an investment agency owned by the ruler of Dubai, and Bridgepoint hired UBS AG (UBSN.VX: Quote, Profile, Research) to advise on an approach for the European firm, which is owned by private-equity house Warburg Pincus, the newspaper reported, without citing anyone.
A sale of Euromedic, which makes diagnostic equipment, would be one of the biggest private-equity deals this year, at a time when the credit crunch has dented mergers and acquisitions volumes, The Times said.

DIC and Bridgepoint already have a relationship in the healthcare sector after Bridgepoint sold Britain-based Alliance Medical to DIC for 600 million pounds last year. Bridgepoint reinvested some of the proceeds into Alliance in return for a 17 percent stake, the Times said.

The two partners are looking at a three-way merger involving Euromedic, Alliance Medical and Gambro, which Bridgepoint bought last year, the newspaper said.

Euromedic is a provider of both diagnostic and dialysis equipment to the central and eastern European markets, as well as Britain. Alliance Medical is a mainly western European business in the diagnostics field, while Gambro, which serves western and northern European markets, specializes in dialysis care services.

Putting the three together would create a pan-European healthcare giant in the manufacture of diagnostics and dialysis technology and services, The Times said.

Jehad Saleh, a spokeswoman for DIC, could not immediately be reached for comment when Reuters called on Sunday.(Reuters)

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