NEW YORK (Standard&Poor's) Sept. 22, 2004--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services said today that the announcement by hospital operator Community Health Systems Inc. (BB-/Stable/--) that it has agreed to purchase 12 million shares of its common stock has no impact on the rating and outlook of the company. The share repurchase is part of a secondary offering of more than 23 million shares of common stock owned by Forstmann Little&Co. Brentwood, Tenn.-based Community Health will use about $30 million of cash and draw $260 million from its revolving credit facility to finance the share purchase. This is considered a one-time event, as the company is permitted under its bank credit agreement to repurchase up to $300 million
