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Health Management Associates, Inc. Executes Definitive Agreement to Acquire Tennessee Hospitals of Mercy Health Partners from C

^{Published on 2011-07-01 03:20:39 - Market Wire}
 

NAPLES, Fla.--([ BUSINESS WIRE ])--Health Management Associates, Inc. (NYSE: HMA) today announced that a subsidiary of Health Management has executed a definitive agreement to acquire the assets of Mercy Health Partners, which is a subsidiary of Catholic Health Partners, Inc. As a result of the agreement, Health Management will acquire or lease all seven of Mercya™s hospitals, which include a total of 1,323 licensed beds and additional continuum-of-care services that are part of the Knoxville-based East Tennessee health system.

"We at the Catholic Diocese of Knoxville look forward to welcoming Health Management Associates to our community"

"Health Management is very pleased to have been chosen to continue Mercy Health Partnersa™ long-standing tradition of delivering high quality health care to the growing needs of the Knoxville community and greater East Tennessee region," said Gary D. Newsome, President and Chief Executive Officer of Health Management. "The Mercy system enjoys strong community support with an excellent medical staff and dedicated employees. Health Management intends to build upon this solid foundation and continue to enhance the quality of health care, increase the range of services and improve access to needed medical services for East Tennessee. Our goal is to enable East Tennessee's best local health care."

Mercy Health Partners has been a dedicated provider of care in East Tennessee for more than 80 years. The mission-based system has a reputation for quality, having received numerous accolades from HealthGrades and Thomson Reuters. The hospitals included in the transaction are: 401-bed Mercy Medical Center St. Marya™s in Knoxville; 101-bed Mercy Medical Center West in Knoxville; 108-bed Mercy Medical Center North in Powell; 58-bed St. Marya™s Jefferson Memorial Hospital in Jefferson City; 74-bed Baptist Hospital of Cocke County in Newport; 66-bed St. Marya™s Medical Center of Campbell County in LaFollette; and 25-bed St. Marya™s Medical Center of Scott County in Oneida. Health Managementa™s subsidiary will also acquire substantially all of Mercya™s ancillary health care operations (which are licensed to operate 197 beds) located in the Knoxville, Tennessee region associated with the operations of the above hospitals, as well as the former Riverside hospital campus (which is licensed to operate 293 beds).

aHealth Management has a proven track record of investing both human and financial resources in its hospitals so that they can fulfill their local missions of delivering superior health care services. As such, it has earned the national reputation of being a strong operator of hospitals,a said Jeffrey A. Ashin, President and Chief Executive Officer, Mercy Health Partners. aThrough Health Management, our hospitals will be able to invest in their facilities and new technologies, and provide the training needed to ensure Mercy continues to provide the best, most current care available in our communities. For these, and many other reasons, I strongly believe that Health Management Associates is the perfect match for Mercy Health Partners.a

Mercy Health Partners generates approximately $600 million of annual net revenue. The purchase price for this transaction is expected to be approximately $525 million, plus certain adjustments for working capital, and the assumption of certain long-term lease liabilities. The proposed acquisition is subject to review and approval by appropriate authorities, including the Vatican, as well as other conditions customary to closing. This transaction is expected to be completed by October 1, 2011.

aWe at the Catholic Diocese of Knoxville look forward to welcoming Health Management Associates to our community,a said Bishop Richard F. Stika of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Knoxville. aWe are grateful that the system which began with a single hospital founded 81 years ago by the Sisters of Mercy to fulfill their mission here in our city will continue to exist.a

Health Management enables Americaa™s best local health care by providing the people, processes, capital and expertise necessary for its hospital and physician partners to fulfill their local missions of delivering superior health care services. Upon completion of this transaction, Health Management, through its subsidiaries, will operate 66 hospitals, with approximately 10,300 licensed beds located throughout the United States.

All references to aHealth Management,a aHMAa or the aCompanya used in this release refer to Health Management Associates, Inc. and its affiliates.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions and are identified by words such as aexpects,a aestimates,a aprojects,a aanticipates,a abelieves,a aplans,a acoulda and other similar words. All statements addressing operating performance, events or developments that Health Management Associates, Inc. expects or anticipates will occur in the future, including but not limited to projections of revenue, income or loss, capital expenditures, earnings per share, debt structure, bad debt expense, capital structure, repayment of indebtedness, other financial items and operating statistics, statements regarding the plans and objectives of management for future operations, innovations, or market service development, statements regarding acquisitions, joint ventures, divestitures and other proposed or contemplated transactions (including but not limited to statements regarding the potential for future acquisitions and perceived benefits of acquisitions), statements of future economic performance, statements regarding the effects and/or interpretations of recently enacted or future health care laws and regulations, statements of the assumptions underlying or relating to any of the foregoing statements, and other statements which are other than statements of historical fact, are considered to be aforward-looking statements.a

Because they are forward-looking, such statements should be evaluated in light of important risk factors and uncertainties. These risk factors and uncertainties are more fully described in Health Management Associates, Inc.a™s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, under the heading entitled aRisk Factors.a Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should any of Health Management Associates, Inc.'s underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results could vary materially from those currently anticipated. In addition, undue reliance should not be placed on Health Management Associates, Inc.'s forward-looking statements. Except as required by law, Health Management Associates, Inc. disclaims any obligation to update or publicly announce any revisions to any of the forward-looking statements contained in this press release.