FILE PHOTO: A photo illustration shows a general practitioner holding a stethoscope in a doctor's office. REUTERS/Regis Duvignau
BOSTON (Reuters) - Activist investment firm Jana Partners wants Encompass Health to re-engage with interested third parties on a potential merger for its home health and hospice business before moving forward with a planned spin-off of the unit, sources familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.
Jana Partners, which owns more than 2% of Encompass Health, has teamed up with health care industry executive Edwin "Mac" Crawford and is privately pushing the Birmingham, Alabama-based company to make this change, the sources said. The sources, some of whom also invest in Encompass and were briefed on Jana's plans, are not permitted to discuss the private plans publicly.
