Earlier this month, Modern Healthcare reported that CHS plans to sell more than the 12 hospitals it has for sale, quoting CFO Larry Cash speaking at the Wells Fargo Securities Healthcare Conference in Boston.
Cash said they are getting interest in additional hospitals. And after examining its portfolio of 159 hospitals, it likely will see “other transactions” before the end of the year, he said.
The hospitals previously up for sale will likely be sold as part of five transactions. Not-for-profit hospital systems are among the prospective buyers, he said.
CHS is not disclosing which hospitals it is negotiating to sell. But the company said that combined, they generate annual revenue of about $1.45 billion and expect to yield net proceeds of $850 million. The proceeds will be used to reduce overall indebtedness, Cash said.
In April, CHS completed the spinoff of 38 mostly small and rural hospitals into a new public company, Quorum Health Corp. That divestiture brought about $1.2 billion in net proceeds, money that also was used to reduce debt.
Plunging earnings complicated by continued low margins at Health Management Associates hospitals that CHS purchased for $3.9 billion in 2014 has caused CHS’ stock price to plummet.
The stock traded at $60 a share a year ago.
HENRY KOTULA 