LifePoint shareholder calls for changes

A major shareholder of LifePoint stock is demanding that the hospital chain make management changes and cancel the proposed $285 million purchase of four facilities in West Virginia from HCA scheduled to close this week. Accipiter Capital Management, which controls about 900,000 shares of LifePoint stock, argues that the West Virginia facilities are likely to be less profitable than anticipated because hospitals are subject to the West Virginia Healthcare Authority, which has the power to set rates for all facilities in the state. Accipiter says the company's bumpy 2004 acquisition of Province Healthcare is evidence of the company's failure to adequately plan ahead.

- see this release from Accipiter Capital Management