Apollo bid, backed out before striking final LifePoint deal

The owner of RCCH HealthCare Partners first offered to buy LifePoint Health nearly eight months before sealing the deal in late July — which came two months after the private equity giant pulled out of the bidding process on the heels of a downturn in LifePoint’s prospects.

Details unveiled recently in LifePoint regulatory filings show that Apollo representatives first sat down with LifePoint executives in early September of last year. From there, talks progressed steadily until Apollo, which has owned fellow Brentwood-based hospital operator RCCH since late 2015, bid $60 per share in cash for LifePoint. After that, two other investment firms declined to submit a bid and LifePoint’s board told Apollo it was ending talks for now.