Steward Health Care Goes to the Docs

Steward Health Care Goes to the Docs

The largest privately held hospital chain in the United States is now owned by a group of physicians who practice there. Steward Health Care System LLC was sold by its founding owner, Cerberus Capital Management, to a management group of Steward Health Care physicians led by the company’s CEO and founder, Dr. Ralph de la Torre. Dr. de la Torre, a cardiac surgeon, was tapped to run Steward’s predecessor, the six-hospital Caritas Christi Health Care in Boston, in April 2008. The current deal was structured as a recapitalization, with no additional leverage added to Steward’s balance sheet and Cerberus’ controlling interest was exchanged for a convertible note. The new... Read More »
U.S. Hospital Transaction Trends, at Mid-Year

U.S. Hospital Transaction Trends, at Mid-Year

It just might be “the pause that refreshes.” Or it could be the beginning of a painful contraction in the hospital market. In the first five months of 2018, 34 deals—representing definitive agreements and closures—have been announced. That’s the same number reported in the first five months of 2017. The difference lies behind the number of deals, of course. In the first five months of 2017, several large hospital systems merged or were acquired. Among the deals were Mississippi Baptist Health System (four hospitals) and Baptist Memorial Health (17 hospitals); IASIS Healthcare (17 hospitals) and Steward Health Care (18 hospitals); and Steward Health’s acquisition of eight hospitals from... Read More »

U.S. Hospital Deals Holding Steady

Seven months into 2017, hospital mergers and acquisitions in the United States are slow and on the smaller side. Even with Community Health System’s (NYSE: CYH) ongoing divestiture announcements, just 51 transactions have been announced through August 1. In all of 2016, 84 transactions for U.S. hospitals were announced. With five months to go, that’s a target this sector could meet or even surpass, but that’s not a very high bar to reach, considering there were 96 deals for U.S. hospitals announced in 2015. Spending on this year’s hospital deals has been anemic. Through August 1, almost $2.3 billion has been spent on mostly private hospital transactions, with the largest, at $1.4 billion,... Read More »
Investors Want Health Care Services with No Strings Attached

Investors Want Health Care Services with No Strings Attached

Preliminary data for the month of May shows an encouraging uptick in deal volume, with the services sectors making up 66% of the total. Some 134 transactions were announced last month, a 30% increase over April’s anemic 103 deal volume total. But monthly transaction totals in 2017 are not keeping pace with those in 2016. A year ago, 151 transactions were announced, 11% higher than in May 2017. There’s no question that the ongoing uncertainty surrounding the American Health Care Act hangs heavily on healthcare investors. The Senate Republicans have been at work behind closed doors to craft a different deal than the one sent to them by the House Republicans in mid-May. From the handful of... Read More »

Hospital Deals Rebound in May 2017

Hospital merger and acquisition activity was fairly quiet in the first four months of the year, totaling 24 deals that made to a definitive agreement or beyond. Then came May, with a combined total of 13 transactions announced in the first four weeks (through May 26). Deal volume in the hospital sector through May 26 now totals 37 transactions, targeting 79 hospitals with 13,854 beds. The nearly $2.3 billion combined spending includes the $1.4 billion just announced by Medical Properties Trust (NYSE: MPW), which acquired the real estate assets of 10 acute care hospitals and one behavioral health facility (approximately 2,400 beds) belonging to IASIS Healthcare, a TPG portfolio company.... Read More »