Auburn Regional Medical Center Agrees to Sell to Multicare Health System

This morning it was announced that Universal Health Services (UHS) has agreed to terms in the sale of Auburn Regional Medical Center (ARMC) and “related assets” to Multicare Health System.  The transaction is expected to be completed by the end of this summer.

Larry Coomes, CEO of ARMC wrote the following this morning in a letter to medical staff:

The transaction reflects the recognition of the changing healthcare landscape in the greater Puget Sound area. The sale of Auburn Regional Medical Center will advance the medical center’s ability and commitment to serve the community with high quality health care. I believe this is a very positive step and I hope you view it as such.

UHS provided a press release on their website that included some of the financial details of the transaction, as well as their reasoning behind the sale:

We expect the sale proceeds to be approximately $98 million, including estimated net working capital, which will result in a substantial gain on the sale.  The transaction is subject to customary regulatory approvals and we expect the closing to occur by September, 2012.

Over the past several years, UHS has concentrated on mid-sized markets where we hold market leading positions and this market no longer fits our long term strategy.

As far as future employment for current staff at ARMC goes, Coomes provided the following ambiguous statement:

The company also anticipates that nearly all employees will be interviewed for employment, and that Multicare will negotiate in good faith with unions that might represent employees.