Mobile, Ala.-based University of South Alabama confirmed it is buying Ascension Providence Hospital in the city in an $85 million transaction that includes the hospital's clinics.
The 349-bed hospital would add to the existing acute care USA Health University Hospital, also in Mobile. The acquisition is expected to close in the fall, according to an April 18 news release from the university.
"USA Health and Providence have long shared a commitment to provide compassionate care to those who need it the most, and that core value will not change," University of South Alabama President Jo Bonner said in the release.
The confirmation comes after months of speculation the hospital would be sold.
St. Louis-based Ascension is one of the largest nonprofit health systems in the nation, operating 139 hospitals.