July 18--Hospital billing company Accretive Health is exploring strategic alternatives after turning down an unsolicited offer from its largest customer.
The Chicago-based company said the offer from Ascension Health, one of the nation's largest Catholic health systems, "substantially undervalues" the business.
Accretive said the proposed bid was about $2.71 per share, or about 50 percent of its Thursday closing price. With about 95.7 million shares outstanding, the bid valued the company at about $260 million.
Accretive's stock, which trades over the counter, closed Friday at $2.69, down more than 50 percent.
Accretive's future is uncertain after Ascension Health, which represents about half of the company's revenue, also indicated that it does not plan to renew its contract, which expires in August 2017.
Accretive helps hospitals manage their revenue by working with patients and insurance companies but is struggling to recover from legal and accounting problems. The 12-year-old company got into trouble with the Minnesota attorney general for its aggressive collection tactics and later had to restate several quarters of financial statements to correct accounting errors.
The company said it has not made a decision to pursue any specific transaction, such as a sale, or strategic alternative.
asachdev@tribpub.com
