Cleveland Clinic, CHS Work Toward Akron General Purchase

Franklin, Tenn.-based Community Health Systems and Cleveland Clinic have entered into exclusive negotiations concerning a joint venture purchase of certain Akron (Ohio) General Health System assets.

The purchase would include the 532-bed Akron General Medical Center, 25-bed Lodi (Ohio) Community Hospital and the 70-bed Edwin Shaw Rehabilitation Hospital in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. Terms of the potential deal were not disclosed. CHS and Cleveland Clinic will now begin the due diligence process and work toward a definitive agreement.

Earlier this year, Cleveland Clinic and CHS created a strategic alliance to improve quality of care, reduce costs and enhance access to care. The partnership wasn't a merger or acquisition, and both organizations have remained independent entities while maintaining a collaborative relationship.

Cleveland Clinic, a renowned academic medical center, has a main downtown Cleveland campus as well as eight community hospitals, a Florida campus and a new campus in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates.

CHS, the second-largest for-profit hospital operator in the country, currently owns, operates or leases 135 hospitals across 29 states. The company recently shook up the hospital industry with its announcement that it will acquire Naples, Fla.-based Health Management Associates in a deal valued at $7.6 billion.

More Articles on Hospital Transactions:
Cleveland Clinic, ProMedica Sign Affiliation Deal
9 Things to Know About the CHS-HMA Merger
Cleveland Clinic, CHS Form Strategic Partnership