11.   The third bidder, Murray, understood the desperation of regulators to inject outside capital into a staggered banking system and found a way to engage them.

12.   The third bidder in the auction was Glencore International AG of Switzerland.

13.   The third bidder is a consortium led by Cadagua, part of the Ferrovial Group of Spain, which has built desalination plants in Tunisia, Cyprus and Spain.

14.   The third bidder, according to El Borsa, was the Kuwaiti Egyptian Holding Co.

15.   The third bidder, Alliance for a Better Community, could not be reached for comment.

16.   There was some chance a third bidder might surface.

17.   A third bidder, Fentress, had been second-ranked but was dropped for failing to comply with the terms of the tender.

18.   A third potential bidder, Allied Domecq PLC, dropped out of the auction last week.

19.   A third bidder, Rugby Group of Britain, dropped out of the bidding last month.

20.   The third bidder was an industrial group led by Austrian retail tycoon Karl Wlaschek.