Eleven players, including investment funds and insurance companies, have voiced interest in taking over a minority stake in the private medical service company Centrul Medical Unirea (CMU).

The 3i giant, one of the worldes largest investment funds, was the company that purchased the minority stake, namely less than 50% of the CMU shares.

"We have been looking for a solution to attract capital in the company for over a year," Wargha Enayati, managing director of Centrul Medical Unirea told ZF.

In an attempt to set the market value of CMU, Enayati collaborated with several companies, such as Ernst&Young, PwC and Deloitte, however the company that offered assistance in the sale of the minority stake to 3i was Altria Capital. CMU was assessed at 20-30 million euros; therefore a transaction with 45% of the companyes shares would exceed 10 million euros.

"My wife and I have been and still are shareholders, but we sold part of the stake to 3i, namely, my part of the shares. Together, we currently hold approximately 53% (of the CMU stake)," explained Enayati.

They sold 46.89% of the shares in a complex transaction and most of the money obtained will be returned to the company through investments.

CMU intends to invest between 7 and 10 million euros in 2007. The companyes investment plans entail "a paediatric hospital, the development of its relation with the Elias hospital (in maternity health), a centre specialising in medical imaging, new clinics in Bucharest as well as the strengthening of its relations with partners from the rest of the country."

Enayati says he could sell to 3i 1-2% more of the shares he holds in the company, but this is still not enough to reduce his stake to less than 50%.

Corporate subscriptions account for approximately 90% of CMUes revenues. CMU reported turnover worth 6 million euros in 2006, with th