The properties are located throughout the southeast andsouthwest, with a main concentration in Texas and Florida. BiggsPorter, Tenet's chief financial officer, said in a press releasethat the portfolio sale will remove "the non-core function ofproperty management responsibilities" from the healthcarecorporation, allowing it to focus on medical care, rather than realestate management.

Additionally, the sale will help Tenet Healthcare free upfinancial resources to invest in its core operations. "Given thecurrent attractiveness of the medical office real estate market, webelieve it is the right time to embark on this initiative," Porterstated. The release said the buildings are being offered as asingle medical office building portfolio or can be acquired asseparate, regional portfolios to qualified institutional realestate investment companies. The assets will be sold subject tolong-term ground leases, targeted only for medical use.

In Texas, the Tenet medical office building portfolio consistsof Doctors Hospital Professional Buildings I and II in Dallas;Providence Cliff Building and Providence Medical Plaza and SierraMedical Center Plaza in El Paso. Also included on the Texas side,are Nacogdoches I-Towers and Nacogdoches II-Terrace in Nacogdochesand Fallbrook Building and Park Plaza Medical Center inHouston.