Acquisitions

LYNWOOD, CALIF. — Prime Healthcare, a private healthcare system based in Ontario, Calif., has agreed to acquire St. Francis Medical Center, a 384-bed hospital in the Los Angeles County suburb of Lynwood. The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California in Los Angeles recently approved Prime Healthcare’s purchase agreement with the seller, Verity Health System, a California-based healthcare system that filed for bankruptcy in summer 2018. As part of the agreement, Prime Healthcare will purchase St. Francis Medical Center for more than $350 million, which includes a $200 million base price and a $15 million in payroll and benefits for staff. The firm will also invest $47 million to make technological and system upgrades, as well as finalize employee agreements with the hospital’s current staff. The remaining balance of the purchase price was not specifically categorized. Prime Healthcare has agreed to honor the Attorney General and Bankruptcy Court conditions recently issued for this sale to preserve the hospital, trauma care, service lines, charity commitments and community benefit programs. “Our agreement with Verity reflects our decades-long mission of saving, improving and investing in community hospitals,” said Dr. Sunny Bhatia, Prime Healthcare’s Region 1 CEO and corporate chief medical officer. …