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* Tenet stock still trades above price before buyout bid
* Premium reflects hopes Tenet remains acquisition target
* Community Health shares recover 21.6 pct, Tenet also up
By Susan Kelly
CHICAGO, April 12 - Tenet Healthcare Corp (THC.N)shares retained a takeover premium on Tuesday, a day after itlobbed a legal grenade at unwanted suitor Community HealthSystems (CYH.N), suggesting that investors still believe a dealbetween the two rivals could happen.
Tenet on Monday filed an explosive lawsuit againstCommunity Health, accusing the No. 2 U.S. hospital operator ofinflating patient admissions and overbilling the Medicareprogram and other payers to boost revenue and profit. CommunityHealth has denied the charges.
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FACTBOX-Tenet's accusations against Community
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Breakingviews-Hostile health deal now requires intensive
care [ID:nN1195025]
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The unusual accusations damaged shares of both companies,with Community Health plunging 36 percent and Tenet sinking 15percent
my blog , as investors assessed that Tenet's analysis of itsrival's admissions practices would not be easy to dismiss andcould trigger a government probe.
Shares of Tenet, the No. 3 hospital operator
my blog , closed at$6.56 on Tuesday, still well above Community Health's Novemberoffer of $6 a share.
Community Health shares also rebounded, recovering 21.6percent to close at $31.48 as some analysts said the companywould weather the charges.
Community Health's $3.3 billion takeover offer, whichTenet's board rejected in December as "opportunistic" and"inadequate," represented a 40 percent premium to Tenet's shareprice at the time. [ID:nN09268560]
"If investors believed that Tenet definitively killed thedeal, then (the stock) should be back to $4 in theory
plato shoes online shop "What can I do," saidJessica Bemer, analyst with Snow Capital Management. "That'sprobably the biggest issue for everyone at this point: 'Whathappens next to the deal?'"
No. 1 hospital chain HCA Holdings (HCA.N) may be the onlyhospital operator, besides Community Health, with the resourcesto launch a competing bid for Tenet, some analysts havesuggested. Others mention private equity as a possible whiteknight.
Analysts stressed that investors need more answers aboutTenet's charges before understanding how they might affect thedeal and the hospital industry as a whole.
Marek Ciszewski, senior equity analyst for Harris PrivateBank, said Community Health's bankers likely remain committedto providing funding for the deal, but he doubted Tenetshareholders would approve it.
"I don't see how this deal can close
my blog , given the hugeuncertainty, and most importantly the huge liability, if theallegations are correct and the numbers Tenet gave are true
my blog ,"Ciszewski said.
Community Health on Monday said it r