Financially troubled Community Health Systems (NYSE: CYH) announced the sale of four rural hospitals on September 28, as it tries to pare down its $15 billion in debt. And more announcements are in the works.
Curae Health, Inc., a not-for-profit organization dedicated to supporting rural healthcare services, agreed to take on the four facilities, three of which are in Mississippi and one in Florida. They are Merit Health Gilmore Memorial (95 beds), Merit Health Batesville (112 beds), Merit Health Northwest Mississippi (181 beds) and Highlands Regional Medical Center (126 beds).
In November 2014, Curae Health emerged as the owner of three rural Alabama hospitals being sold by LifePoint Health (NASDAQ: LPNT), for an undisclosed sum.
Community Health previously announced plans to reduce its portfolio by at least 12 facilities, following the April 2016 spin-off of 38 rural hospitals into another publicly traded company, Quorum Health (NYSE: QHC).
Also on September 28, Chinese gaming billionaire Tianqiao Chen upped his stake in CYH to nearly 13.8%, according to an SEC filing. And Apollo Global Management, owner of RCCH HealthCare Partners, was in talks to acquire some of Community Health’s hospitals. Stay tuned for more announcements.
