A group of Tuscaloosa, AL-based physicians are suing HealthSouth to stop the pending sale of one of its outpatient surgery centers. The physician group, Surgery Center Partners, contends that when it agreed to sell its outpatient surgical facilities, HealthSouth didn't honor the terms of the partnership contract with their regional surgery center, HealthSouth Surgical Center of Tuscaloosa. HealthSouth has agreed to sell its 139 surgery centers and three surgical hospitals to Texas Pacific Group for $945 million.
The physician group says that it wasn't given the opportunity, required by their contract, to either accept the terms of the sale or purchase the outstanding interest in the facility themselves. Surgery Center Partners also claims that HealthSouth artificially inflated the value of its 30 percent interest in the center. HealthSouth is asserting that its interest is worth $24.8 million, even though partners paid only $2 million in 2006 when it picked up 20 percent.
To get more background on the dispute:
- read this Birmingham Business Journal piece