Prime Healthcare Services and Catholic Health Initiatives completed the transaction for the sale of Saint Clare's Health System in New Jersey to Prime on July 31. However, they agreed to defer the sale's effective date until late summer or early fall and said in a news release that Saint Clare's will remain part of CHI until then.
Fred Ortega, director of government affairs at Ontario, Calif.-based Prime Healthcare, said, "Delays are common in complex transactions such as these. Our number one goal is to ensure that all parties involved have the smoothest transition possible."
Multiple media accounts indicate Prime may be pursuing financing for acquisitions. On July 30, Reuters reported Prime dropped a plan to issue a high-yield bond to raise $700 million after facing "push-back from investors." The report said Prime had planned to use proceeds to finance acquisitions, repay indebtedness and to pay a special dividend of up to $100 million to its only shareholder. Prime spokesperson Andrea Eisenmenger told Catholic Health World that Prime does not publicly discuss financing for transactions.
The sale includes Saint Clare's hospitals in Boonton Township, Denville and Dover and Saint Clare's Health Center at Sussex as well as other facilities in Morris and Sussex counties. The transaction does not include the Franciscan Oaks retirement community and the Saint Clare's Foundation, both in Denville.
CHI appointed Jon Timmis as interim chief executive of Saint Clare's, effective Aug. 3. Timmis is Englewood, Colo.-based CHI's vice president of strategy integration.
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