Tenet Healthcare Corp (NYSE: THC) rose in price on word that it’s exploring options, including a possible sale, Dow Jones reported.
Tenet, one of the largest hospital companies in the U.S., has hired banking advisors to consider a number of possibilities, The Wall Street Journal reported. The process is still in an early phase, and there is no guarantee a deal may come about, according to The Journal.
Nor is this the first report: The Dallas Morning News said last week that Glenview Capital Management, an activist investor that owns 17.8% of Tenet's stock, said in a regulatory filing it will consider options to enhance shareholder value, including "strategic alternatives" for Tenet's assets, divisions and the company as a whole.
Tenet CEO Trevor Fetter discussed continuing to make divestitures but did not mention the possibility of a sale in an appearance at the Wells Fargo Health Care conference last week.
Last month, Tenet said it would replace the longtime CEO and members of its board amid mounting pressure from Glenview. Fetter will step down by March 15, 2018, or when his successor is appointed, if that happens first.
Glenview reportedly pulled two of its executives from the hospital company's board last month, citing irreconcilable differences.
Shares of Tenet have gained about 15.5% this year, but they have fallen 72%. over the past three years.
The price for THC hurtled 75 cents Thursday, or 4.6%, on the WSJ report, to $16.99.
