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WoodBridge Healthcare Inc., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, announced in July 2024 an agreement to purchase Commonwealth Health in Northeastern Pennsylvania from subsidiaries of Community Health Systems, Inc. (NYSE:CYH).  

WoodBridge retained Ziegler, a leading national investment banking firm with significant expertise in bond financing for not-for-profit healthcare companies, to secure deal funding for the acquisition through the issuance of tax-exempt bonds. Ziegler issued a “Highly Confident Letter” to WoodBridge in April of this year. A Highly Confident Letter is not a binding commitment, but rather an indication that Ziegler was highly confident they could sell the bonds. Ultimately, Ziegler was not able to sell the bonds.

Without the bond financing, the agreement for WoodBridge Healthcare to acquire Commonwealth Health is terminated.

“The entire WoodBridge team is extremely disappointed in this outcome,” said Joshua Nemzoff, Chairman of the Board of WoodBridge Healthcare, Inc. “We very much looked forward to being part of the Scranton and Wilkes-Barre communities and partnering with the Commonwealth Health staff and physicians on providing the best healthcare in the region. CHS has gone out of its way to help get this deal done including significant concessions on their part. We appreciate all their efforts to do so.”

ABOUT WOODBRIDGE 

WoodBridge Healthcare is a nonprofit, 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to helping hospitals and health systems provide high-quality, patient-centered care and community support. Our goal is to achieve this by acquiring hospitals in urban and rural areas, optimizing their operations and services to better position the hospitals and caregivers to serve their patients and their community.

For more information, visit WoodBridgeHealthcare.org 

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