BlueMountain Capital Management, a private investment firm and Los Altos, Calif.-based Daughters of Charity Health System's latest suitor, is guaranteeing to operate Daughters of Charity hospitals as general acute care hospitals and offer charity care services for at least five years, according to a San Jose Mercury News report, which cites newly released documents.
That's half the time stated in conditions that California Attorney General Kamala D. Harris placed on Ontario, Calif.-based Prime Healthcare Services' proposed acquisition of DCHS hospitals. Ms. Harris approved the sale with several stern conditions, including requiring Prime to continue operating the facilities for their current purposes for 10 years. However, Prime backed out of the deal last March after evaluating the viability and future stability of the DCHS hospitals under those conditions.
Now, BlueMountain is making a five-year promise, which is what Prime offered last year, according to the report.
It is unknown whether Ms. Harris will impose similar 10-year requirements on the latest proposal by BlueMountain. But, according to the report, industry experts contend five years is a normal timeline for most hospital sales in California.
"Ten years for Prime was really different and unusual,'' hospital consultant Steve Valentine told the San Jose Mercury News. He attributed the 10-year requirement to Prime's "track record and issues" related to the Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West, which has fought Prime's acquisitions.
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More articles on hospital transactions:
Premier to acquire CECity for $400M: 4 things to know
Prime Healthcare's purchase of N.J. system from CHI deferred
Providence Health & Services, St. Joseph Health sign letter of intent: 5 things to know