Bankrupt hospital chain paid private equity giant $700M dividend despite losses

The country’s largest private, for-profit hospital chain paid out a $790 million dividend — with a big chunk of that money going to its Manhattan-based private equity owner — before it filed for bankruptcy several years later, according to a report.

Steward Health Care System, the Boston-based network of 30 hospitals that operated in rural and low-income areas, made the payout to Cerberus Capital Management in 2016, the same year the chain recorded a net loss of $300 million. READ MORE