The First makes its move: Hattiesburg-based The First has entered into an agreement to acquire seven Whitney National Bank branches along the Mississippi coast and one in Bogalusa. Officials from The First, Whitney and Hancock Bank together announced the proposed acquisition. Federal bank regulators had ordered Whitney to sell the branches before it would approve its merger with Hancock Bank.
Deal includes north Louisiana facilities: Birmingham, Ala.-based HealthSouth Corp. says it is selling its six long-term, acute-care hospitals to LifeCare Holdings Inc. for about $120 million. HealthSouth announced the deal and says it will use proceeds from the sale to pay off debt. CEO Jay Grinney says the sale will let HealthSouth concentrate on its 97 inpatient rehabilitation hospitals. He says the deal won’t change HealthSouth’s financial outlook this year. LifeCare is based in Plano, Texas. It is buying HealthSouth facilities in Ruston, Florida, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Texas. Two satellite hospitals in Farmerville and Homer are also included in the deal. The sale is supposed to close in the third quarter of this year.
