Business Roundup: HMA Finalizes Deal with Bayfront Health

Naples, FL-based Health Management Associates, Inc. announced that a subsidiary will partner with the 480-bed Bayfront Health System, in St. Petersburg, pending a lease agreement between the partners and the City of St. Petersburg and other regulatory approvals.

"We continue to work closely with Bayfront's senior leaders, Board of Trustees, and the St. Petersburg City Council to modernize the lease agreement and to create a partnership that will serve the needs of the citizens of the St. Petersburg community for generations to come," HMA CEO/President Gary D. Newsome said in a media release.

Under the deal, HMA will acquire an 80% interest in Bayfront Health and bring them into an affiliation with ShandsHealthCare, part of UF&Shands, the University of Florida Academic Health Center. Terms of the transaction have not been disclosed.

However, net proceeds of approximately $150 million will be invested in the new Bayfront HERO (Health, Education and Research Organization) Foundation. This foundation will invest in research and education in partnership with Bayfront Health System, Johns Hopkins/All Children's Healthcare and other healthcare and academic partners. Bayfront HERO will invest in a 20% ownership stake in the partnership, the two providers said in a joint media release.  

When the deal is finalized, HMA subsidiaries will operate 71 hospitals, with 11,000 licensed beds, in non-urban communities in 15 states.