CHS offers nominees for Tenet board

Community Health Systems announced a slate of 10 nominees and four alternates as its candidates for election to the board of Tenet Healthcare Corp. as part of Community's effort to acquire Tenet. The board of Tenet currently includes 10 directors.

The 14 candidates from Franklin, Tenn.-based Community include three former healthcare services executives. Two of them are nominees: John Hornbeak, 63, former president and CEO of Methodist Healthcare System in San Antonio, and Steven Shulman, 59, former chairman and CEO of Magellan Health Services, Columbia, Md. Alternate nominee Gary Stein, 60, formerly was president and CEO of Touro Infirmary, New Orleans.

Another nominee, Curtis Lane, 53, a healthcare investment banker, served on the board of Iasis Healthcare, Franklin; his term on the board was from June 2004 to January 2010, according to Iasis securities filings. Other candidates bring experience with healthcare or general corporate finance, corporate law, or biotechnology and pharmaceuticals.

Dallas-based Tenet confirmed in a news release that it had received notice of the nominations, to be considered at its next annual meeting. The meeting is scheduled for Nov. 3, after Tenet recently amended its bylaws to allow pushing the meeting back by six months. Tenet said that the nominations are meant only “to advance (Community's) goal of acquiring Tenet at an inadequate price.”

In December, Community made public its offer to acquire Tenet for $7.3 billion in cash, stock and assumed debt and also that Tenet had rejected the offer.