Hospital Operator HCA Plans To Offer $4.6 Billion IPO

HCA Inc., the nation's biggest hospital operator by number of facilities, filed plans last week for a $4.6 billion initial public offering as it "looks to return to the public markets," The Wall Street Journal reports. "Although the amount HCA registered to sell could change by the time it prices, it now stands as the biggest IPO in the U.S. backlog, according to data provider Dealogic. HCA's filing comes even as the outlook for pricing IPOs dimmed due to the market's volatility this week. But because it can take two to three months for a company to move from filing to listing, HCA's deal could debut in a different market environment." HCA had been bought in 2006 and was taken private. "With more than 160 hospitals and 100 freestanding surgery centers, HCA has the leading share in a majority of its markets and among the highest margins in the industry, said Sheryl Skolnick, an analyst for CRT Capital Group LLC in Stamford, Conn. HCA had been planning an IPO since the beginning of the year, but waited for health-care overhaul legislation to pass before filing" (Cowan and Lattman, 5/8).