While the human face on the $1.1 billion bid to buy Jackson Health System is a Cuban-American heart surgeon with strong family ties to Miami, a vast and powerful entity looms in the background: Cerberus Capital Management. The company, named for the mythological three-headed dog that guards the gates of Hades, is one of the biggest private investment firms in the United States, and it is the owner of Steward Health Care, the Boston hospital group that this week said it is interested in buying Miami-Dade's public hospitals. Financial experts agree that if the deal goes forward after Steward examines Jackson's books, it will be because the tough-minded financial analysts of Cerberus see a financial opportunity.
