Tenet jumps as hospital company plans spinoff of health-services unit Conifer

Andrea Comas/Reuters

Tenet Healthcare operates 65 hospitals and about 500 other healthcare facilities.

• Tenet Healthcare announced on Wednesday that its plan to pursue a spinoff of its Conifer business to be an independent publicly trade company.
• The hospital chain had been trying to figure out what to do with the Conifer unit since late 2017.
• Tenet's stock jumped 3.6% to $18.21 in New York trading.
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Tenet Healthcare's stock jumped after the hospital company announced in a press release this morning that it plans to pursue a spinoff of its Conifer business, making the health-services unit into an independent publicly traded company.

Tenet's stock climbed 3.6% to $18.21 in New York trading on Wednesday. The shares have lost about half their value over the past year.

Tenet operates 65 hospitals and about 500 other healthcare facilities in the US. The company had been working to figure out what to do with Conifer, which helps hospitals and doctors bill patients and insurers, since late 2017. Conifer manages more than 17 million patient interactions each year.

"This decision supports our longstanding objectives to maximize the value of Conifer, build on its strong growth potential and deliver the best outcome for Conifer and for Tenet shareholders," Tenet CEO Ronald A. Rittenmeyer said in the press release.

Tenet said it expects to complete the spinoff by the end of the second quarter of 2021. Goldman Sachs is the financial advisor on Tenet's review of Conifer and Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP is providing legal counsel.

The company also said Conifer CEO Stephen M. Mooney is leaving his position, and will be replaced on an interim basis by Chief Operating Officer Kyle Burtnett. The company is looking for a permanent CEO.