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A settlement agreement between Medical Properties Trust (NYSE:MPW) and its bankrupt tenant Steward Health Care has received an interim approval from bankruptcy court judge Christopher Lopez.
The deal was reached at the end of August and will see Medical Properties Trust (MPW), the biggest hospital landlord in the U.S., take over Steward’s hospitals and fund all related operational expenses. It will settle all disputes between MPT and Steward over billions of dollars’ worth of lease obligations.
Judge Lopez will consider final approval of the agreement later in September. The deal will involve Steward dropping all potential claims against MPT and selling over a dozen northern Florida hospitals. Following the sale of these hospitals, the parties have agreed to make payments to lenders and creditors with proceeds from the transactions.
Last week Steward agreed to sell its Wadley Regional Medical Center in Texarkana, Texas, to a Christus Health, a not-for-profit Catholic health system, in a stalking horse bid.
