Spring Valley, Ill.-based St. Margaret's Health is in talks with a larger health system about a potential sale and has hired investment bankers to ensure it gets the most value out of a possible deal, Shaw Local News Network reported March 21.
In a March 21 memo to St. Margaret's employees, president and CEO Tim Muntz said he was "unable to disclose the identity of the larger system" because of a non-disclosure agreement, according to the report.
"To further facilitate these discussions, and to ensure St. Margaret's achieves the highest value from any potential transaction, we have retained Juniper Advisory to serve as our investment bankers," Mr. Muntz said in the memo. "As our investment bankers, Juniper has initiated a marketing campaign to assist us in identifying other parties that may be interested in acquiring St. Margaret's."
This is the first time St. Margaret's has addressed rumors that it is in talks with another health system about acquiring its Spring Valley hospital and its closed hospital in Peru, Ill., according to the report.
St. Margaret's Peru hospital closed Jan. 28 after citing economic, financial and staffing challenges, as well as a recent cyberattack, which the hospital said prevented it from being able to bill or get paid in a timely way.
The system's plan is to reopen the hospital once a rural emergency hospital designation is finalized. However, the hospital will need to reopen before it can qualify for the designation.