ATLANTA AND NASHVILLE, TENN. — Piedmont Healthcare has signed a purchase agreement with HCA Healthcare Inc. (NYSE: HCA) for the acquisition of four Georgia hospitals and one clinic for a purchase price of $950 million. The two parties are targeting a closing date of July 31.
Pending regulatory approval, Piedmont will acquire the 310-bed Eastside Medical Center in Snellville and the 119-bed Cartersville Medical Center in Cartersville, which are both located in metro Atlanta. The acquisition will also include three facilities in Macon: the 310-bed Coliseum Medical Center, the 103-bed Coliseum Northside and the 40-bed Coliseum Center for Behavioral Health.
With the acquisition, Piedmont Healthcare is continuing to expand its footprint in metro Atlanta as well as strengthen its portfolio of best-in-class hospitals. Nonprofit watchdog organization Leapfrog Group rated HCA’s Coliseum Medical Centers, Coliseum Northside and Cartersville Medical Center as “A” hospitals in its spring 2021 Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grades report released last week.
“HCA Healthcare has instilled a high standard of care into these facilities, and we are proud that they have trusted Piedmont to continue this legacy,” says Kevin Brown, president and CEO of Piedmont Healthcare.
The portfolio includes Cartersville Medical Center (pictured), a 119-bed hospital in Cartersville, Ga. (Photo courtesy of Cartersville-Bartow Chamber)
For HCA, the transaction increases the Nashville-based company’s financial flexibility for investments in ongoing and future initiatives in core markets. HCA owns six other healthcare properties in Georgia, including its recent purchase of Meadows Regional Hospital in Vidalia from Meadows Health Alliance.
In addition to the hospitals trading hands, Piedmont and HCA are forming a joint venture for 12 new urgent and family care clinics, the details of which were not disclosed.
Citigroup is serving as HCA’s financial advisor for the Piedmont acquisition.
Founded in 1968, HCA is a holding company whose affiliates own and operate hospitals and related healthcare entities. The term “affiliates” includes direct and indirect subsidiaries of HCA and partnerships and joint ventures in which such subsidiaries are partners.
As of Dec. 31, 2020, these affiliates owned and operated 185 hospitals, 121 freestanding surgery centers, 21 freestanding endoscopy centers and various clinics in 20 states and England. In its network, HCA logs approximately 32 million patient visits a year.
HCA’s stock price closed on Monday, May 3 at $204 per share, up from $103.61 a year ago, a 97 percent increase.
Piedmont Healthcare is a not-for-profit health system based in Atlanta. The company’s holdings include 11 hospitals, 35 Piedmont Urgent Care centers, 25 QuickCare locations and a network of over 2,600 employed and independent physicians, all in the state of Georgia.
— John Nelson