Glenview says shareholders vote to replace HMA board

Investment firm Glenview Capital Management, which owns 14.6 percent of Health Management Associates Inc , said on Monday a majority of the U.S. hospital chain's shareholders have voted to oust its board and replace it with Glenview's slate of directors.

Glenview said it expects the transition to occur this week, after HMA's current board reviews the voting results with its outside advisers.

Glenview's ability to secure the votes needed to replace HMA's board throws a wrench in the hospital operator's plans to be acquired by larger hospital group Community Health Systems Inc .

Community Health and Health Management last month announced they had agreed to a $3.9 billion merger, with Community Health offering $13.78 a share in cash and stock for HMA.

But Glenview quickly signaled it was not ready to sign off on the deal, saying the price should serve as a floor value for HMA and that it would press forward with its goal of replacing HMA's board with the aim of improving the company's performance.

Community Health and HMA did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Shares of HMA closed unchanged at $13.24 on Monday.

(Reporting by Susan Kelly in Chicago; Editing by Gary Hill and Phil Berlowitz)