A federal bankruptcy judge approved KPC Health's $610 million bid Wednesday afternoon.
KPC Health, a Santa Ana, California-based healthcare company, announced Wednesday that a federal bankruptcy judge approved the $610 million purchase of four hospitals owned by financially-troubled Verity Health System.
KPC Health will take ownership of St. Francis Medical Center, St. Vincent Medical Center, Seton Medical Center, and Seton Coastside in Moss Beach. The company also acquired St. Vincent Dialysis Center as part of the deal.
The deal is the latest development in Verity Health's ongoing bankruptcy proceedings, which began in August 2018.
Related: Verity Health's Deep-Pocketed Savior Failed. Here's Why.
"Today marks an important milestone for KPC Heathโs bid to acquire four Verity Health hospitals," Dr. Kali P. Chaudhuri, chairman of KPC Health, said in a statement. "We look forward to working with Verity Health on a successful acquisition and welcoming these important community hospitals into our integrated healthcare system."
The acquisition of four Verity Health hospitals adds to KPC Health's seven acute care hospitals in southern California as well as seven long-term acute care hospitals and two skilled nursing facilities in multiple states.
Verity Health's board of directors approved the deal on April 15. Due to no other bid exceeding KPC Health's $610 million bid, no auction was required for the four Verity Health hospitals.
The next step will be submitting the purchase to California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, who has already been involved in handling the sale of two Verity Health hospitals earlier this year.
In January, Becerra blocked the $235 million sale of two hospitals owned by Verity Health, O'Connor and Saint Louise hospitals, to Santa Clara County.
Despite the sale being approved by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in December, Becerra argued that the County had not agreed to specific conditions related to the deal.
At the end of January, a federal bankruptcy judge denied Becerra's motion to block the sale, stating that he did not have the authority to regulate the sale. A scheduled federal hearing on Becerra's motion to block was cancelled in mid-February and the sale closed on March 1.
Jack O'Brien is the Content Team Lead and Finance Editor at HealthLeaders, an HCPro brand.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
KPC Health is adding four Verity Health-owned hospitals to its growing collection of nonprofit hospitals.
Dr. Kali P. Chaudhuri, chairman of KPC Health, referred to the ruling as an "Important milestone" for the company.
The court-approved deal now goes before California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, who attempted to block the sale of two Verity Health hospitals in January.