Kindred target RehabCare to lay off 140

RehabCare Group Inc. plans to lay off 140 employees.

The job cuts, which are scheduled to take place by May 31, were made public in a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification filed Friday with the Missouri Department of Economic Development.

The Clayton, Mo.-based rehabilitation hospital operator has agreed to be sold this summer to Louisville-based Kindred Healthcare Inc. (NYSE: KND) for $1.3 billion, including $400 million in debt.

RehabCare President and CEO John Short had said when the deal was announced in February that about half of RehabCare’s 350 corporate employees in St. Louis will keep their jobs, while the other half will be offered positions in Louisville or laid off over the next 12 to 18 months. Short will become vice chairman of the combined company.

As Business First reported, the purchase could result in as many as 100 new jobs in Louisville.

The merger will create the largest post-acute health-care services company in the United States, with more than $6 billion in annual revenue and operations in 46 states.

The combined company will operate 118 long-term acute-care hospitals, 226 nursing and rehabilitation centers, 121 inpatient rehabilitation hospitals and 1,808 hospital, nursing-center and assisted-living rehabilitation therapy services contracts nationwide. Officials expect the merger to close around June 30, pending approval of shareholders of both companies.

RehabCare reported revenue of $1.3 billion in 2010, while Kindred brought in $4.4 billion in revenue in 2010.

From: Biz Journals