BRENTWOOD, Tenn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 16, 2004--LifePoint Hospitals, Inc. (NASDAQ: LPNT) today announced that the previously announced agreement for the exchange of assets with Health Management Associates, Inc. (“HMA”) (NYSE: HMA) was terminated, and no exchange will take place. Under the terms of the exchange agreement, LifePoint was to acquire from HMA substantially all of the assets of the 76-bed Williamson Memorial Hospital, located in Williamson, West Virginia, and HMA was to simultaneously acquire from LifePoint substantially all of the assets of the 56-bed Bartow Memorial Hospital, located in Bartow, Florida. LifePoint Hospitals expects to continue to seek a buyer for Bartow Memorial Hospital.
