In a deal arranged to purportedly help pay the company’s debt, Tenet Healthcare Corp., headquartered in Dallas, is selling four hospitals in Southern California, one of which is in Los Alamitos, to UCI Health in a $975 million cash deal.
According to a statement released by Tenet, the sale includes Fountain Valley Regional Hospital, Lakewood Regional Medical Center, Los Alamitos Medical, Placentia-Linda Hospital and related operations.
The ENE reached out to Los Alamitos Medical Center officials for comment.
Jennifer Bayer, a local spokesperson for the four hospitals being sold, confirmed the statement and subsequent reports. “It’s true,” said Bayer, confirming the sale of the four medical centers, noting however that she was not authorized to say any more than that.
In addition, ENE has reached out to UCI Health in Irvine, but have not been able to get additional plans as yet.
The statement issued by Tenet confirmed that UCI Health, based in Irvine, is purchasing the four Southern California hospitals. They are the clinical enterprise of the University of California, Irvine. The UCI Medical Center — the primary teaching location for the UCI School of Medicine — is a 459-bed acute care hospital.
Tenet, one of the largest investor-owned hospital companies in the country, estimates after-tax proceeds of about $800 million after the transaction is complete in the spring of 2024. Its subsidiary, Conifer Health Solutions, will continue to provide revenue cycle management through the transition.
The statement claims the four hospitals that were included in the deal had $1 billion in revenues in 2023, resulting in pre-tax income of approximately $29 million.
“Our four hospitals have provided high-quality care for Orange County and Los Angeles County residents for over 50 years,” said Tenet CEO and chairman Dr. Saum Sutaria.
“UCI Health is an innovative academic health system with a deep commitment to enabling accessibility to world-class, academic medicine closer to home. Integrating these hospitals into their health system will meaningfully enhance access to the benefits of university medicine,” he added.
News reports indicated that this deal comes just a few months after Tenet announced it would also sell three of its South Carolina hospitals for approximately $2.5 billion in cash. Tenet said it expected to realize total proceeds of approximately $1.75 billion as part of the sale, which was completed last week.
The company reported revenues of more than $19 billion in 2022 and $15 billion for the nine months ended Sept. 30, 2023, up 7% year-over-year, according to financial filings. Fourth quarter and year-end results for 2023 will be announced in early February, Sutaria told Wolf.
Overall, Tenet operates 58 acute care and specialty hospitals and about 160 outpatient facilities. Its subsidiary United Surgical Partners International is the largest ambulatory platform in the U.S. and operates or has ownership interests in more than 480 ambulatory surgery centers and surgical hospitals.