Kindred Healthcare to Acquire RehabCare in $1.3B Deal

Kindred Healthcare, Inc., the Louisville, KY-based long-term healthcare services provider, will acquire RehabCare Group, Inc. in a $1.3 billion deal that will create the nation’s largest rehabilitation services company, the two companies announced jointly on Tuesday.

When the merger is finalized, the combined company will generate $6.2 billion in annual revenues, with operations in 46 states, including 118 long-term acute care hospitals with 8,492 licensed beds, 226 nursing and rehabilitation centers with 27,442 licensed beds, 121 inpatient rehabilitation hospitals, and 1,808 hospital, nursing center and assisted living rehabilitation therapy services contracts, the two companies said.

“The expansion of our size and scale and the opportunities to integrate RehabCare's LTAC and IRF hospitals and rehabilitation therapy contract business with our operations will create a stronger company both nationally and locally and create value for all of our constituents in the communities we serve,” said Paul J. Diaz, president/CEO of Louisville, KY-based Kindred.

“We are particularly excited about the opportunity to add RehabCare’s services in our cluster markets and inpatient rehabilitation services to our service offerings. Together with our growing home care and hospice businesses, the merger offers our patients an expanded continuum of services and the opportunity for us to ‘continue the care’ for our patients and residents through an entire episode of treatment and recovery,” Diaz said.

The merger agreement was unanimously approved by the board of directors of both Kindred and RehabCare. Two members of the RehabCare board will join the Kindred board when the deal is finalized.

Shareholders of St. Louis, MO-based RehabCare will get $26 per share in cash and 0.471 of a share of Kindred common stock, which the two companies said equates to about $35 per share.

“Our combination with Kindred delivers significant value to our stockholders and provides an opportunity to share in the future growth of the combined company,” RehabCare President/CEO John H. Short said. “We share the same commitment to delivering leading-edge post-acute care that improves lives, and we expect our patients, healthcare partners and professionals to benefit from the blending of our organizations.”

Kindred expects to issue approximately 12 million shares in connection with the transaction. The aggregate value of the pending transaction approximates $1.3 billion, including approximately $400 million of existing indebtedness.

The deal is expected to be finalized by June 30, but must still be approved by stockholders of both companies, and cleared by federal regulators.