Community Health Systems announced Wednesday it has signed a definitive agreement to sell its 421-bed hospital in Ocala, Fla., to Adventist Health System Sunbelt Healthcare Corp.
Under the deal, Adventist subsidiary Florida Hospital Ocala will assume the long-term lease and operations of Munroe Regional Medical Center.
The hospital is among the Franklin, Tenn.-based for-profit hospital chain's previously announced planned divestitures. CHS last month reiterated its goal of making $1.3 billion in proceeds from divestitures this year, including $374 million in the second quarter on the sale of 10 hospitals for which it has signed nonbinding letters of intent with potential buyers.
CHS has been selling off hospitals to pay down its long-term debt, which stands at nearly $14 billion. The chain announced last month it had hired prominent financial firms, including Lazard, to help the company restructure its debt, specifically $4.8 billion in 2019 and 2020 maturities.
CHS wrote in a news release it expects the transaction to close in the third quarter of 2018, subject to closing conditions and regulatory approvals, including Marion County Hospital District's approval of the lease transfer.
CHS has also signed definitive agreements with potential buyers on three hospitals in Tennessee, Louisiana and Florida. The system expects to make $14 million on those sales by the end of the second quarter.
