Although neither group disclosed the purchase price, Tenet Healthcare is expected to settle for a figure at less than the $260 million in annual revenue that Intracoastal produces through St. Mary's, a 460-bed facility, and Good Samaritan, a 341-bed facility.

It is uncertain whether the transaction includes four physician-office buildings on the St. Mary's campus or a single physician-office building on the Good Samaritan campus, which Intracoastal Health Systems classifies as assets. Nor is there any indication about the potential impact on the more than 2,000 employees that work at both hospitals.

One of the largest publicly owned hospital groups in the country, Tenet Healthcare acknowledges in a prepared statement that the sale price easily covers an estimated $150 million in debt that Intracoastal owes to Pennsylvania-based Catholic Health East Inc. It also announced plans to make significant investments in both hospitals.

The pending buyout follows an out-of-court settlement Intracoastal reached earlier this month with Florida Attorney General Bob Butterworth, who opposed the nonprofit group's plans to terminate acute-care services at St. Mary's as part of an internal reorganization to stem the flow of red ink. Butterworth took action because of the potential impact of the reorganization on the local population of indigent patients who rely on the two facilities for heath care services.

Tenet Healthcare agreed to operate acute-care facilities at both hospitals for a period up to 10 years, even though it currently operates three other acute-care facilities in West Palm Beach at Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center, Delray Medical Center and West Boca Medical Center.