The fight between hospital chain Tenet Healthcare and hedge fund Glenview Capital Management has intensified, and Glenview has made it clear it wants to push out four of Tenet's board members.
The bottom line: Glenview, led by billionaire Larry Robbins, owns almost 18% of Tenet and has the power to rally for bigger, quicker changes. The firm most recently took direct shots at Tenet's "chronically underperforming" finances and "shareholder-unfriendly" practices.
The details: A 26-page slide deck made by Glenview lambasted the general direction of Tenet and criticized former CEO Trevor Fetter, who was ousted last year after the fight became public. Some of Glenview's main gripes:
What's next: Tenet is already looking into selling its medical billing subsidiary, Conifer, as well as a potentially larger sale of itself. With $15 billion of debt, selling the hospitals and surgery centers is highly unlikely, meaning Glenview and Robbins may want to turn this ship around with its own team and on its own terms.
Flashback: The last time Robbins got into a major fight with a health care company, he won. Robbins ripped into the board and executives at Health Management Associates in 2013, leading to a sale of the company to Community Health Systems — a deal CHS now regrets.
