David Rubenstein’s Carlyle Group is ceding control of its big nursing home chain, HCR ManorCare, The Post has learned — one of the biggest stumbles for the Washington private equity firm and its high-profile boss.
Owned by Carlyle for 10 years, HCR took a big top-line hit under ObamaCare and never recovered, sources said.
The Toledo, Ohio, nursing home chain, with 500 locations and 34,000 beds, the second largest in the US, also was slammed by news in 2015 that it was being probed by the Department of Justice for allegedly exerting pressure on senior nursing home facility therapists to “exploit” elderly patients for profit.
That probe continues, a Justice department spokesman said.
More recently, HCR has been hit by a host of C-suite exits, The Post has learned, including Jim Pagoaga, the head of its rehabilitation division since 1998, who exited recently, according to a June 1 internal e-mail.
It is the rehabilitation division that is under investigation by the feds.
Also, HCR Vice Presidents John Graham and Mike Ferguson resigned in recent weeks, according to internal e-mails.
Carlyle’s move to cede control comes after the International Swaps and Derivatives Association on June 8 determined that HCR had defaulted on its $380 million in senior loans.
The move, sparked by HCR creditors, has placed the company in technical default. Those creditors are in advanced talks with HCR’s landlord, Quality Care Properties, about repossessing the chain, sources said Sunday.
The repossession is expected to take place either through an out-of-court restructuring or a bankruptcy, sources said. In either case, Carlyle will essentially be wiped out, two sources close to the situation said.
Once QCP, which bought all of HCR’s real estate in 2010 for $6.1 billion, takes possession, it will likely ask regulators in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Florida and other states where it operates for permission to close some locations, sources added.
“The chain will not look the same after a bankruptcy,” an HCR employee told The Post.
The turn of events is a humbling experience for Rubenstein, who, on his show on Bloomberg TV, often speaks publicly about the virtues of private equity.
While HCR’s stumble could sully Carlyle’s reputation, it may escape the investment with a profit thanks to a dividend in the wake of the real estate sale-lease back deal, sources said.
Adding injury to insult, recently several HCR vendors stopped doing business with the chain, one employee said.
Carlyle did not return calls, and QCP declined to comment.