Mission Health, a nonprofit hospital company in Asheville, North Carolina, has agreed to be acquired by HCA Healthcare in an $1.5 billion deal, the companies announced Friday.
The proceeds from the sale of Mission Health will be used for the Dogwood Health Trust, a nonprofit meant to improve health care in western North Carolina.
The deal will allow HCA Healthcare to expand into the North Carolina market. The companies had disclosed in March that they were negotiating.
Under the agreement, HCA Healthcare will acquire Mission Health Hospital in Asheville, as well as a number of smaller hospitals — Mission Hospital in Asheville; CarePartners Rehabilitation Hospital in Asheville; Mission Hospital McDowell in Marion; Angel Medical Center in Franklin; Transylvania Regional Hospital in Brevard; Blue Ridge Regional Hospital in Spruce Pine; and Highlands-Cashiers Hospital in Highlands.
Combined, the acquired hospitals total 991 beds.
HCA Healthcare is the largest hospital operator in the United States, employing over 200,000 across the country and serving 28 million patients each year.
“Mission Health is the premier health care system in western North Carolina,” said HCA Healthcare CEO Milton Johnson in a statement. “We look forward to continuing Mission Health’s focus on excellence, and investing in western North Carolina to improve the health of the region.”
The deal must be approved by the North Carolina attorney general. Mission Health is the state’s sixth-largest health system and has 12,000 employees.
HCA, which is based in Nashville, operates hospitals in South Carolina and Virginia but currently has no facilities in North Carolina.
“It is heartening to share that every single Mission Health member entity Board voted unanimously to approve this transaction,” said Mission Health chair John Ball in a statement.
HCA Healthcare has committed to $430 million over five years in capital expenditures, which includes the completion of the Mission Hospital for Advanced Medicine, building a replacement hospital for Angel Medical Center and building a new Behavioral Health hospital.
