NAPLES, Fla., Dec. 27 - Health Management Associates, Inc. (NYSE: HMA) announced today that it has negotiated an agreement to acquire St. Joseph Hospital, in Augusta, Georgia. The execution and closing of the purchase agreement are subject to the review and approval of the Georgia Attorney General's office pursuant to applicable state law.
"We are very excited about the opportunity to acquire St. Joseph Hospital and continue its long standing history of serving the growing health care needs of the Augusta, Georgia, community," said Joseph V. Vumbacco, President and Chief Executive Officer of HMA. "Augusta is another example of the many attractive and rapidly growing communities in the Southeast which have hospitals in need of the leadership, financial and technological resources which HMA can employ. HMA intends to expand the already comprehensive list of services offered at St. Joseph and improve access for those seeking high quality health care services."
St. Joseph Hospital is a fully accredited, general acute-care hospital operating 231-licensed beds. St. Joseph Hospital serves a growing population base of more than 425,000 residents that, by 2010, is expected to grow to 470,000 residents. The hospital generates approximately $65 million in annual net revenue.
"This is our fourth purchase agreement negotiated in the last 90 days, and will represent HMA's fourth Georgia hospital," added Vumbacco. "St. Joseph is part of Ascension Health, the largest Catholic and non-profit health system in the country, and we are very pleased to have developed such a fine working relationship with another first-class faith-based organization. It is HMA's intention to carry on Ascension's tradition of delivering high quality health care. With three negotiated agreements announced and one additional hospital acquisition completed during our first fiscal quarter, we believe that fiscal year 2006 will be an active year of quality acquisitions. We are already off to a great start."
HMA is the premier operator of non-urban general acute care hospitals in communities situated throughout the United States. HMA has generated 17 years of uninterrupted operating earnings growth and upon completion of the transaction to acquire the 231-bed St. Joseph Hospital and the previously announced transactions to acquire a controlling interest in the 84-bed Orlando Regional St. Cloud Hospital and the 56-bed Barrow Community Hospital, HMA will operate 61 hospitals in 16 states with approximately 8,912 licensed beds.
All references to "HMA" used in this release refer to Health Management Associates, Inc. or its affiliates.
Certain statements contained in this release, including, without limitation, statements containing the words "believes," "anticipates," "intends," "expects," and words of similar import, constitute " forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements may include projections of revenues, income or loss, capital expenditures, capital structure, or other financial items, statements regarding the plans and objectives of management for future operations, statements of future economic performance, statements of the assumptions underlying or relating to any of the foregoing statements, and other statements which are other than statements of historical fact.
Statements made throughout this release are based on current estimates of future events, and HMA has no obligation to update or correct these estimates. Readers are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties, and that actual results may differ materially as a result of these various factors.
