Providence, R.I.-based Care New England appears to have rejected a $250 million bid from StoneBridge Healthcare, according to The Providence Journal.
The hospital financial turnaround firm made an unsolicited offer to buy Care New England. The offer included a $250 million purchase price and a promise to invest $300 million in capital improvements.
StoneBridge Healthcare said it presented a nonbinding letter of intent to Care New England because it has been struggling financially for several years. Last week, the health system recorded a $13 million net loss for its fiscal year 2020.
Care New England CEO James Fanale, MD, dismissed the bid as the health system works to negotiate a potential merger with Providence-based Lifespan and affiliation with Brown University, also in Providence. The organizations said they are working to complete a definitive agreement by January.
"It's abundantly clear that the best direction for Rhode Island’s healthcare future is the creation of a robust academic health system with the merger of Care New England and Lifespan, and a deep affiliation with Brown University," Mr. Fanale said, according to the Providence Journal. "We are united in our commitment that a merger must only serve to strengthen Rhode Island’s healthcare system. The merger conversations we’ve embarked on are the right ones, and they will continue expeditiously and exclusively."