EGX-listed Cleopatra Hospital Group and Alameda Healthcare Group are on track to reach an agreement on their planned merger before the year is out, Bloomberg reports, citing people familiar with the matter. Alameda could be valued at USD 450-500 mn, including debt, Bloomberg’s sources say. The transaction would see CHG issuing convertible loan notes to Fahad Khater, Alameda’s chairman and controlling shareholder, and make Khater the merged group’s second-largest shareholder with a 25% stake.

Background: Cleopatra owns six major hospitals in Greater Cairo. El Khater’s Alameda owns high-profile facilities including As-Salam International and Dar Al Fouad. The two healthcare players have been in talks since February to merge and become the largest private-sector healthcare service provider in Egypt. An Egyptian Competition Authority investigation earlier this year concluded that the merger would not negatively impact market competition and would not need to be blocked.