DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
Investors have shown strong interest in Tenet Healthcare Corp.'s
(THC) note buyback, tendering $891.4 million in outstanding senior
notes by the early tender date as part of the hospital operator's
offer to buy back up to $1 billion in notes maturing in 2014.
The company has been trying to turn itself around following
years of financial and legal trouble, cutting costs and conducting
debt exchanges. Meanwhile, hospitals in general have been cutting
back on capital spending and taking other measures to conserve cash
as rising unemployment threatens to increase the ranks of the
uninsured and consumers put off elective procedures.
Holders of the notes tendered before the deadline will receive
the notes' full face value plus accrued and unpaid interest. Any
notes tendered from now until the offer expires at midnight June 25
will get $970 per $1,000 of principal.
The company said last week it would offer $450 million in
10-year senior notes as part of its plan to improve financial
flexibility.
Tenet lowered its 2009 revenue view earlier this month because
of lower-than-expected admissions. The company has said recently it
is dealing with lower-than-expected profitable commercial
managed-care admissions.
Tenet's shares closed Thursday at $3.49 and haven't traded
premarket. Despite more than tripling so far this year, the stock
is still down 39% in the last 12 months.
-By Kerry E. Grace, Dow Jones Newswires; 201-938-5089;
kerry.grace@dowjones.com