Drinker Biddle Advises Mission Health on $1.5B Hospital Merger With HCA Healthcare

Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP advised Asheville, N.C.-based Mission Health in its $1.5 billion merger with HCA Healthcare, which was finalized today.

Mission Health, North Carolina’s sixth-largest health system, with six hospitals, is now a new operating division of Nashville-based HCA Healthcare, which has approximately 1,800 care-sites in 21 states and the United Kingdom. The acquisition brings HCA Healthcare’s number of hospitals to 185, the company said in a press release.

The Drinker Biddle integrated deal advisory team comprised 85 attorneys from 21 separate specialty practices. The firm’s Health Care Transaction group was led by Neil Olderman, a partner in the firm’s Chicago office.

According to Mr. Olderman, the complex deal involved several hospital facilities, hundreds of employed physicians, 13,000 employees and a host of legal, licensure and other regulatory matters that were specific to the health care industry and relationships among providers who participate in federal governmental programs. 

“What we needed for this deal were teams with legal subject matter experts and knowledge of the health care business and regulatory industry, as well as knowledge of this particular client and its Board and various other constituencies,” noted Mr. Olderman. “The teams were unique in terms of the knowledge of the health care industry, regulatory scheme and the client.”

The Drinker Biddle deal advisory team included:

• Health Care Transactions: Gerald McCartin (Partner – Washington, D.C.); Eric Berman (Counsel – Chicago); Mark Phillips (Counsel – Washington, D.C.); Sumaya Noush (Associate – Chicago); Daniel Walbright (Associate – Chicago); Krissa Webb (Associate –  Washington, D.C.); Emily Maus (Associate –  Washington, D.C.); Diane Ravenscraft (Paralegal - Chicago)
• Health Care Regulatory Compliance: John D’Andrea (Partner – Philadelphia);  Rachel Ryan (Partner – Albany)
• Corporate: Timothy Casey (Partner – Chicago); Vanessa Tabler (Associate – Philadelphia)
• Antitrust: Kenneth Vorrasi (Partner –  Washington, D.C.); Jonathan Todt (Associate –  Washington, D.C.); John Yi (Associate – Philadelphia)
• Litigation/Risk Management: Justin Kay (Partner – Chicago)
• Real Estate: William Goldbeck (Partner – Chicago)
• Employee Benefits: Christine Kong (Partner – New York City); Elise Norcini (Associate – Chicago)
• Intellectual Property: Ira Kalina (Partner – Chicago), Mita Lakhia (Associate – Chicago)
• New Market Tax Credit: Stephen Hamilton (Partner – Philadelphia)
• Nonprofit Tax: T. J. Sullivan (Partner –  Washington, D.C.)
• FCC Licensing: Laura Phillips (Partner –  Washington, D.C.); Qiusi Newcom (Associate –  Washington, D.C.)

Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP is a national law firm with nearly 600 lawyers. The firm provides client service in corporate and securities, litigation, government and regulatory affairs, health care, products liability, corporate restructuring, investment management, labor and employment, insurance litigation, intellectual property, employee benefits and executive compensation, environment and energy, white collar defense and corporate investigations, trusts and estates, and real estate.