HCA, the largest private hospital operator in the US, filed on Friday with the SEC to raise up to $4.6 billion in an initial public offering, which has the potential to rank among the 15 largest deals ever on a US exchange. The Nashville, TN-based company was founded by the Frist family in 1968 and was publicly traded between 1992 and 2006, until a group of private equity firms acquired it in a massive $32 billion LBO. HCA booked $30.2 billion in sales over the last 12 months, and plans to use primary proceeds to pay down debt. BofA Merrill Lynch, Citi, and J.P. Morgan are the lead underwriters on the deal. No pricing terms were disclosed.
