UCI Health has paid nearly $1 billion to buy four hospitals in Orange County.

The clinical arm of the University of California, Irvine paid $975 million in cash for the four medical centers in Fountain Valley, Lakewood, Los Alamitos and Placentia, the Commercial Observer reported. The seller was Tenet Healthcare, based in Dallas.

The Regents of the University of California, on behalf of UCI, entered into the definitive agreement to buy Tenet’s Pacific Coast Network.

The purchase includes the 400-bed Fountain Valley Regional Hospital, 172-bed Lakewood Regional Medical Center, 167-bed Los Alamitos Medical Center and 114-bed Placentia-Linda Hospital and associated outpatient clinics.

The sale is expected to close this spring, subject to regulatory approvals, clearances and closing conditions.

The hospitals together generated $1 billion in revenue last year, along with $71 million in adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization, according to Tenet. The sale of the hospitals to UC Irvine is part of the firm’s strategy to cut debt.

The move comes months after Tenet sold three South Carolina hospitals and related operations to Novant Health for $2.4 billion. 

Despite the divestments, Tenet remains among the largest health care providers in the country. 

Its network includes United Surgical Partners International, which owns or operates more than 480 ambulatory surgical centers across the U.S., plus 160 outpatient facilities and 58 specialty and acute care hospitals.

UCI Health operates the 459-bed UCI Medical Center in Orange, which includes a cancer center, regional burn center, and the area’s only Level 1 trauma center, plus a growing network of multispecialty care centers.

UC Irvine expects to open a $1.3 billion medical complex and 144-bed hospital next year in Irvine, where hospitals and healthcare providers from across the region are racing to expand or to set up shop.

— Dana Bartholomew

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