2.20 MOD chose Modus, Modem and Mapeley to respond to an Invitation to Negotiate. Mapeley withdrew before submitting a bid, because two members of the consortium did not wish to continue. Following evaluation of Modus' and Modem's bids, which showed that Modem's bid was overspecified and significantly more expensive than MOD's Public Sector Comparator, MOD invited both to submit Best and Final Offers to maintain competitive tension. Modem threatened to withdraw from this stage due to rising bid costs. To keep Modem in the competition, MOD agreed to consider reimbursing Modem's costs if the PFI procurement was cancelled in certain circumstances if they were appointed preferred bidder, but never formally entered into an arrangement with them.