Prospect Medical Holdings Inc., a hospital manager backed by private-equity firm Leonard Green & Partners LP, is trying to block Prime Healthcare Services Inc.’s $350 million purchase of a bankrupt Los Angeles-area hospital, The Wall Street Journal reported. Los Angeles-based Prospect is making a last-minute attempt to scoop up St. Francis Medical Center in Lynwood, Calif., by offering to top Prime Healthcare’s bid by as much as $50 million. A bankruptcy judge this spring approved the bid by Prime to buy St. Francis from owner Verity Health System of California Inc., which filed for chapter 11 protection in 2018. This month, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra approved the sale to Prime with conditions. Now, Prospect is lobbying Verity and the attorney general to stop the sale from closing and to reopen bidding, or at least to select it as the backup bidder. Because of the COVID-19 outbreak, the company believes it didn’t have a meaningful opportunity to participate in the sale process. St. Francis, which was founded in 1945, has one of the busiest trauma centers in the Los Angeles area. The 384-bed hospital hit the bankruptcy auction block again in February after a previous buyer failed to close on a sale.
