ChristianaCare Health System won't execute its planned acquisition of Crozer Health from Prospect Medical Holdings, the companies announced Thursday.
ChristianaCare, a Wilmington, Delaware-based not-for-profit health system, signed a letter of intent in February to purchase Springfield, Pennsylvania-based Crozer Health from Prospect Medical and revert the hospital system to not-for-profit profit status. Prospect Medical, health system based in Orange, California, acquired Crozer Health in 2016 and converted it to for-profit.
“Since the signing of the letter of intent in February, the economic landscape has significantly changed, impacting the ability of the sale to move forward,” the companies said in a joint news release.
Crozer Health will continue operating under Prospect Medical’s ownership. Like ChristianaCare, the parent company will turn Crozer Health back into a not-for-profit company, Von Crockett, senior vice president of corporate development for Prospect Medical, said in a statement.
“Crozer Health will now continue to engage in a strategic review that will determine the best path to stabilize the health system,” Crockett said. “This work will rely on engaging medical staff to help define how the services we offer best meet community needs, as well as other healthcare providers we’ll look to in determining opportunities for affiliation and collaboration.”
Prospect Medical owns and operates 16 hospitals, Crozer Health’s four facilities, and more than 165 clinics and outpatient centers.
The canceled sale also would've included Crozer Health hospitals’ related businesses, real estate assets, ambulatory centers, medical office buildings, physician clinics and ancillary outpatient services, according to a February news release.
“We worked hard to reach an agreement for the purchase of Crozer Health, and we are disappointed in this outcome,” Jennifer Schwartz, chief strategy officer and general counsel of ChristianaCare, said in a statement. “We will continue to explore opportunities to serve the needs of our neighbors.”
