A bid battle has reportedly broken out for United Arab Emirates private health group Al Noor Hospitals (LON:ANH).
Al Noor said in a statement that it had received a "highly preliminary" indication of interest from Abu Dhabi-based VPS Healthcare (VPSH), however no formal proposal or indicative terms were received.
It has been reported that another Abu Dhabi-based group, London-listed NMC Health (LON:NMC), is considering a rival offer.
The news comes after Al Noor agreed a takeover of South African-owned Mediclinic International on October 14.
Al Noor released a statement on Tuesday after comments made by chief executive Ronald Lavater to UAE newspaper The National.
"We've received another expression of interest. I cannot identify the source of the potential bidder, nor say whether or not it will amount to a bid," Reuters reported Lavater as telling the newspaper.
If the Mediclinic acquisition went through, the enlarged group would be the third largest private healthcare provider in revenue terms in South Africa, the largest in the UAE and the largest private medical network in Switzerland.
The enlarged Group had pro-forma revenue of US$4bn for the fiscal period 2014/15, comprising 46% from Switzerland, 31% from South Africa and 23% from the UAE.
It would run 73 hospitals with around 10,200 beds and 35 clinics, and will have nearly 32,000 staff.