With the $28 million sale of Mercy Iowa City to the University of Iowa just over two weeks from closing, the 150-year-old community hospital’s largest bondholders are seeking court affirmation they will get the vast majority of that money “promptly.”
In total so far, a Chicago law firm representing Mercy Hospital in its bankruptcy case has accumulated $6.2 million in fees against a hospital that since its Chapter 11 petition through Oct. 31 had reported a $13.7 million operating loss.
Since University of Iowa Health Care more than two years ago initiated efforts to take over Mercy Iowa City, an outside Chicago-based law firm has billed it $1.8 million for “transactional and regulatory assistance arising in connection with a potential affiliation involving Mercy Iowa City.”
After taking a “short” five-hour break during a bankruptcy auction in Chicago on Oct. 4 to discuss whether to raise their original $20 million offer for Mercy Iowa City’s assets in response to bondholder Preston Hollow’s $27 million counter bid, University of Iowa attorneys at least initially decided not to.
Hunter 09/14/23 Attorneys for Mercy Iowa City said during a Wednesday hearing that they're arranging tours of their facilities for potential buyers. The Gazette