Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
Quorum Health Group, which owns Kosciusko Community Hospital and six other area hospitals, has at least two hospital chains looking to possibly purchase part or all of the company, said health care analysts Wednesday.
According to Modern Healthcare, a trade publication, Universal Health Services, King of Prussia, Pa., and Triad Hospitals, Dallas, submitted bids in the range of $14 to $17 per share.
Quorum, based in Brentwood, Tenn., employs approximately 5,000 people through the Lutheran Health Network at its area hospitals.
On Wednesday, Quorum's stock closed at $13.1875 on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, down 12.5 cents from Tuesday.
Analysts differed on which company would most likely be the buyer.
Nationwide, Quorum manages 215 hospitals and owns 21.
In August, the company announced it was exploring various alternatives to ownership and financing options in anticipation of a multimillion dollar lawsuit settlement Quorum Health Group is expecting within a year.
Those alternatives included the possibility of a merger, sale or recapitalization.
At that time, Wayne Hendrix, CEO of KCH, said he was "not too sure" the settlement is the only reason Quorum is looking at alternatives, and the lawsuit goes back many years.
"This is a very old lawsuit and I don't know where we are with that," he said in August.
Quorum was named in a civil Medicare fraud lawsuit stemming from a whistleblower's complaints. The lawsuit was unsealed in 1998 and alleges Quorum filed inflated Medicare cost reports. The settlement could be up to $200 million, but Quorum didn't announce any settlement.
As for what it all means for KCH, Hendrix said, "It's too soon." However, he said, the results could be very positive. The board of directors is looking for the best means to raise capital for the future, he said.
Hendrix said he was not surprised by the announcement as the board of directors continues to build on the company's strengths as part of their commitment to the hospitals.
"If there was another owner," he said, "I'm sure they'd be very pleased with what they see here. That's only my own personal opinion."
The focus has always been health care, he said, and "we're just going to continue that trend without question."
Quorum was created in 1989 when HCA Management Co. was spun off to a group of investors and employees by Hospital Corporation of America.
Quorum bought KCH in 1999.
