Atlanta, Georgia, April 12, 2004 -- R. Timothy Stack, president and CEO of Piedmont Medical Center, today announced that Piedmont has entered into a definitive agreement to purchase Mountainside Medical Center in Jasper, Georgia, from SunLink Health Systems, Inc. for aggregate consideration of $40 million.

Shattuck Hammond Partners, LLC, a full service investment bank, acted as exclusive financial advisor to Piedmont on the transaction.

Mountainside Medical Center is a 35-bed acute care hospital, accredited by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations. "Mountainside Medical Center fits well with Piedmont's plans to expand our healthcare services to north Georgia. This is a growing area of the state where our physicians already have a strong presence, particularly in cardiac and gastrointestinal care," said Stack. Piedmont Hospital is the market leader for cardiac care in Pickens County and ranks fifth in orthopaedics.

Commenting on the sale, SunLink's Chairman and CEO Robert M. Thornton Jr. said, "We are confident that Piedmont, one of Atlanta's premier medical centers, will continue to provide the Mountainside service area with outstanding medical resources."

SunLink Health Systems, Inc., currently operates eight community hospitals and related businesses in the Southeast and Midwest. Each SunLink facility is the only hospital in its community. SunLink's operating strategy is to link patients' needs with dedicated physicians and health professionals to deliver quality, efficient medical care in each community it serves.

Piedmont Medical Center, a not-for-profit organization, is the parent company of Piedmont Hospital, a 500-bed acute tertiary care facility in the north Atlanta community of Buckhead, offering all major medical, surgical and diagnostic services; Fayette Community Hospital, a 100-bed acute care community hospital in Fayetteville; Piedmont Physicians Group, a 54-member primary care physician group with 15 offices throughout metro Atlanta; and the Piedmont Clinic, a 444-member physician network.

Shattuck Hammond Partners LLC is an independent investment banking and financial advisory firm with more than forty investment banking professionals and offices in New York, San Francisco, Atlanta and Chicago. Founded in 1993 as a boutique focused on healthcare services, the Firm has steadily grown over the last decade and extended its expertise and success to meet the needs of clients across a variety of industry sectors, including hospitals, senior living, managed care, pharmaceuticals, medical distribution and outsourcing, healthcare information technology, real estate, higher education and specialty not-for-profit organizations. The Firm has a strong middle market orientation with additional expertise in the consumer, industrial, and business and financial services sectors. Shattuck Hammond provides comprehensive investment banking and financial advisory services, including: strategic advisory, merger & acquisition advisory; placements of debt and equity; taxable and tax-exempt debt underwriting and financial advisory; derivatives and reinvestments; and real estate transaction services. For more information visit Shattuck Hammond's website at: www.shattuckhammond.com.

<< Back to News Home Page