Quorum files for Chapter 11

Quorum Health executives on Tuesday morning filed for protection from their creditors, saying they and their banks and other debt holders have a plan to cut the hospital operator’s debt load by about $500 million.

The bankruptcy filing by Quorum isn’t a big surprise. Four weeks ago, investors at Kohlberg Kravis Roberts said the focus of their talks with Quorum had shifted from a recapitalization that would have paid shareholders $1 per share to a recapitalization that would leave little or nothing for equity investors. And in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing last week, Quorum executives acknowledged that Chapter 11 was a legitimate option for them as they sought to lighten the Brentwood-based company’s more than $1.2 billion debt burden.