The hospital landlord announced the sale on Friday, revealing that the hospitals were leased to a subsidiary of CommonSpirit Health.

The buyer of the hospital stake is a newly formed joint venture by an unspecified investment firm. As part of the deal, the joint venture granted MPT a non-recourse secured loan of $190 million. This loan ensures that if MPT defaults, the lender will not be able to collect any of MPT's other assets or income. In total, these transactions are expected to generate immediate cash of $1.1 billion, according to MPT's announcement.

This sale comes just three days after MPT sold five hospitals to Prime Healthcare for $350 million. The decision to sell off hospital assets is a strategic move by the Birmingham-based real estate investment trust, as it aims to mitigate the ramifications of the financial meltdown experienced by Dallas-based Steward Health Care.

Steward Health Care accounted for a significant portion, 19.2%, of MPT's assets as of December 31, 2023, and was the largest tenant in its portfolio. However, Steward began delaying rent payments to MPT in September and only paid a fraction of the required $70 million rent during the fourth quarter. Meanwhile, MPT was providing multiple rounds of asset-backed loans to Steward.

As a result of the financial instability caused by Steward's actions, MPT reported a net loss of $556 million for fiscal year 2023, with the shortfall from Steward being a major contributor to this result. The loss of rental income from Steward, coupled with increasing interest rates and a significant debt of $1.3 billion due within the next year, prompted MPT to pursue various property sales early this year, according to the company.

During the fourth quarter earnings call, investors expressed concerns about the impact of Steward's financial instability on future dividend payments. MPT CEO Edward K. Aldag Jr. assured investors that the dividend is not dependent on Steward's rent but rather on the company's ability to close liquidity transactions.

MPT also announced its quarterly dividend of $0.15 per share alongside the Utah deal, indicating its commitment to its shareholders. Aldag stated that the company aims to sell enough property to secure at least $2 billion in liquidity. With the successful closure of the Utah deal, the CEO expressed confidence in surpassing this target.

Following the news of the sale, MPT's stock price saw a notable increase of 20.8% when the markets opened on Monday morning, trading at $4.80 per share. This positive market response is a reflection of investors' confidence in MPT's strategic moves to improve its financial situation.