Duke Health has signed on to buy Lake Norman Regional Medical Center to grow its reach in North Carolina.
Community Health Systems has struck another deal for a hospital it has been trying to unload as it continues to aggressively divest.
The health system reached agreement with Duke Health to sell Lake Norman Regional Medical Center for $280 million, six months after a previous deal to move the hospital was abandoned due to regulatory pressure.
Mooresville, North Carolina-based Lake Norman Regional would add a 123-bed facility to Duke Health’s services in the Tar Heel State, representing a “significant expansion,” the academic health system said in a news release.
“We recognize the health care landscape is changing,” Craig Albanese, CEO of Duke University Health System, said in a statement. “While we continue to expand access to care within the communities we serve, it’s also time to do more and deliver care to more people – in more communities.”
Duke Health currently operates three hospitals that make up the Duke University Health System: Duke University Hospital, Duke Regional Hospital, and Duke Raleigh Hospital, a campus of Duke University Hospital.
For Franklin, Tennessee-based CHS, the deal marks a second opportunity to divest Lake Norman Regional, which was one of two hospitals on its way to Novant Health before regulators stepped in.
The Federal Trade Commission sued to block the transaction in January, arguing that the acquisition would allow Novant to control over 65% of the market in the region, resulting in less competition and negative consequences for patients. The agency later requested a preliminary injunction on the sale.
In June, Novant and CHS called off the deal, forcing CHS to seek out another buyer while it pursued a divestment plan to yield more than $1 billion in sales.
The new sale of Lake Norman Regional is expected to face less regulatory scrutiny because of Duke Health’s market presence and the fact that the hospital is being acquired as part of a standalone transaction.
If the deal passes regulatory review, it is expected to close in the first quarter of 2025, according to the news release.
Aside from Lake Norman Regional, CHS has also had difficulty completing other sales this year.
In November, the health system and WoodBridge Healthcare mutually agreed to terminate their agreement for three Pennsylvania hospitals for $120 million due to the buyer failing to secure funding.
Jay Asser is the CEO editor for HealthLeaders.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
CHS is selling Lake Norman Regional Medical Center to Duke Health for $280 million after failing to divest the hospital earlier this year because of FTC involvement.
The sale to Duke Health should encounter fewer regulatory roadblocks considering the buyer’s current foothold in the market and the transaction including no other assets.