Duke Health, which operates internationally known Duke University Hospital in Durham, signed an asset purchase agreement to buy Lake Norman Regional Medical Center and related businesses in Mooresville in Iredell County.
The seller is Community Health Systems, a for-profit operator based in Franklin, Tennessee. Regulators still must approve the $280 million transaction.
Winston-Salem-based Novant Health had agreed to buy the Mooresville hospital, but canceled the $320 million purchase in July after opposition from the Federal Trade Commission. The agency argued that Novant’s deal was anticompetitive for the fast-growing, affluent market serving north Mecklenburg and southern Iredell counties.
That opened the door for Duke Health, which now plans to enter a region that is dominated by larger rivals Novant and Charlotte-based Atrium Health. Iredell Health is an independent, not-for-profit enterprise that operates a hospital in Statesville.
“We recognize the healthcare landscape is changing,” Duke University Health System CEO Craig Albanese said in a release. “While we continue to expand access to care within the communities we serve, it’s also time to do more and deliver care to more people – in more communities. We want to bring access to all that Duke Health has to offer to the Lake Norman community.”
Buying the 123-bed hospital represents a major strategy shift for Duke Health, which has focused on the Triangle area for generations. Atrium Health and Novant Health are dominant systems in the Charlotte and Triad metro areas and have grown larger than Duke Health over the past decade because of various acquisitions.
Atrium is part of Advocate Health, which has about $35 billion in annual revenue, Novant Health tops $10 billion. Duke Health had $6.8 billion in revenue in the fiscal year through June 30.
“LNRMC has a long history as a highly successful medical center, which we look forward to learning from as we develop relationships with team members, providers and the community and work together to serve Iredell County,” Albanese said.
Community Health Systems owns or leases 69 affiliated hospitals with more than 11,000 beds and operates more than 1,000 sites of care.
Kaufman Hall was the financial adviser to Duke Health.
