Tenet and USC Reach Tentative Agreement Regarding USC University Hospital and USC Norris Cancer Hospital
Dallas and Los Angeles — Tenet Healthcare Corporation (NYSE: THC) and the University of Southern California today announced they have signed a non-binding letter of intent for the university to acquire USC University Hospital and USC Norris Cancer Hospital, both located in Los Angeles. Financial terms were not disclosed.
A lawsuit was filed by the University of Southern California in August 2006 seeking to terminate the relationship between USC and Tenet. In November 2007, Tenet filed a counterclaim against the university seeking monetary damages. The parties seek to resolve the lawsuit by reaching agreement on sale terms for these two hospitals.
“USC is committed to working on an expedited basis to reach agreement with Tenet,” said Steven B. Sample, president of the University of Southern California. “The long-term vision of the university includes operating state-of-the-art health care facilities and enabling USC faculty physicians in the Keck School of Medicine to provide medical care of the highest quality, conduct research, and train more than 1,000 residents and medical students at these hospitals and the Los Angeles County + USC Medical Center. This acquisition would enable us to reach our vision of a fully integrated health care organization on USC’s campus.”
Trevor Fetter, president and chief executive officer of Tenet, said: “We would have preferred to continue our long-standing partnership with the university; however, we explored every avenue to resolve this dispute and have now decided to reach a settlement and move forward. We’re pleased to have reached this tentative agreement.”
A Tenet subsidiary operates USC University Hospital, a 411-bed acute care hospital, and the USC Norris Cancer Hospital, a 60-bed cancer hospital. Both hospitals are managed under an agreement with USC and are located near downtown Los Angeles.
Tenet Healthcare Corporation, through its subsidiaries, owns and operates acute care hospitals and related ancillary health care businesses, which include ambulatory surgery centers and diagnostic imaging centers. Tenet is committed to providing high-quality care to patients in the communities it serves. Tenet can be found on the World Wide Web at www.tenethealth.com.
University of Southern California is one of the world’s leading private research universities. The Keck School of Medicine of USC is home to the Doctors of USC — internationally recognized physicians practicing in a multitude of clinical specialties. They practice in private clinics on USC’s Health Sciences Campus and in several affiliated hospitals including the USC University Hospital, the USC Norris Cancer Hospital, the Doheny Eye Institute, Childrens Hospital Los Angeles and the Los Angeles County + USC Medical Center. USC can be found online at www.usc.edu.
Some of the statements in this release may constitute forward-looking statements. Such statements are based on Tenet Healthcare Corporation’s current expectations and could be affected by numerous factors and are subject to various risks and uncertainties discussed in Tenet’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including Tenet’s annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2007, Tenet’s quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and periodic reports on Form 8-K. Do not rely on any forward-looking statement, as Tenet cannot predict or control many of the factors that ultimately may affect its ability to achieve the results estimated. Tenet makes no promise to update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of changes in underlying factors, new information, future events or otherwise.
USC Health Sciences Contact:
Media: Jane Brust at (323) 442-2830 or Jane.Brust@keck.usc.edu
Tenet Contacts:
Media: Steven Campanini at (469) 893-6321 or Steven.Campanini@tenethealth.com
Investors: Thomas Rice at (469) 893-2522 or Thomas.Rice@tenethealth.com
