Becker's Hospital Review

19 CFO / FINANCE PE firm made $1.6B by selling LifePoint to fund it owns By Alia Paavola A pollo Global Management, a New York City-based private equity firm, made a $1.6 billion gain by selling its stake in Brentwood, Tenn.-based LifePoint Health to itself, Bloomberg reported July 29. Apollo Global completed the sale of LifePoint to a different Apollo fund, Fund IX, in June. e PE firm sold LifePoint for $2.6 billion, aer it in- vested about $975 million in the rural hospital chain. Fund IX, a $24.7 billion fund, agreed to buy LifePoint in April of this year, and advisory boards from both funds approved the deal. "We worked with fund investors, indepen- dent advisers and multiple new co-inves- tors to reach a fair and attractive transac- tion for both funds," Apollo spokesperson Joanna Rose told Bloomberg. "is was a unique transaction for Apollo, and we are proud to continue supporting the compa- ny and its mission." e sale was approved aer Apollo told Fund IX investors that they would likely gain from their investment in LifePoint, because it has more than $2 billion in cash that could be used to expand the business. In June, LifePoint began execut- ing its growth strategy through entering a deal to buy Louisville, Ky.-based Kindred Healthcare. "is is a great outcome for both funds," Apollo said in June, according to Bloomberg, "with a successful realization for Fund VIII and an opportunity for Fund IX to back a proven management team in continuing to invest in local health care, build the platform and gen- erate attractive returns." Apollo created LifePoint through the purchase of three regional hospital chains in 2015, 2016 and 2018, according to Bloomberg. LifePoint has grown sub- stantially and now operates 87 hospitals across the U.S. n Ascension sells 7 Wisconsin hospitals, 21 clinics By Ayla Ellison W ausau, Wis.-based Aspirus Health has acquired seven hospitals, 21 physician clinics, and air and ground ambulances from Ascension Wisconsin, part of St. Louis-based Ascension. The transaction closed Aug. 1, about seven months after the two health sys- tems entered into an agreement. The following seven Wisconsin hospitals are included in the deal: • Eagle River Hospital • Good Samaritan Hospital in Merrill • Howard Young Medical Center in Woodruff • Our Lady of Victory Hospital in Stanley • Sacred Heart Hospital in Tomahawk • St. Mary's Hospital in Rhinelander • St. Michael's Hospital in Stevens Point Aspirus, a nonprofit system, added 2,700 team members when the deal closed. The system said the names of the hospitals and clinics will change by Decem- ber to reflect the Aspirus brand. "This acquisition will help Aspirus provide better and more connected care to thousands and thousands more people in our region," Aspirus President and CEO Matthew Heywood said in a news release. "We are excited to work with our new team members to serve more communities like the ones we call home." n 10 most expensive popular generic drugs in the US By Katie Adams T adalafil, which has an average monthly cash price of $518, is the most expensive gener- ic drug in the U.S., according to re- search released July 29 by pharmacy discount company GoodRx. GoodRx analyzed prices for the top 100 generic drugs based on a repre- sentative sample of U.S. prescription fills. Below are the 10 generic drugs the analysis found to be most expen- sive, along with their average month- ly cash price. 1. Tadalafil: $518 2. Zolpidem: $296 3. Diclofenac sodium: $277 4. Estradiol: $252 5. Sildenafil: $248 6. Celecoxib: $210 7. Valacyclovir: $192 8. Amphetamine salt combo XR: $190 9. Paroxetine: $188 10. Levetiracetam: $186 n

• Cover