HCA SUBPOENAED BY U.S. ATTORNEY'S OFFICE; RELATED TO STOCK SALE BY SENATOR [View All]

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HCA SUBPOENAED BY U.S. ATTORNEY'S OFFICE; RELATED TO STOCK SALE BY SENATOR FRIST

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8:17am 09/23/05 HCA to cooperate fully with U.S. Attorney's office - MarketWatch.com

8:16am 09/23/05 HCA subpoenaed by U.S. attorneys office to produce document - MarketWatch.com

8:17am 09/23/05 HCA sees subpoena relating to sale of stock by Senator Frist - MarketWatch.com

subarticles:

HCA gets subpoena to produce documents

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/newsfinder/pulseone.asp?siteid=mktw&dateid=38618.3508349421-843504255&

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- HCA Inc. (HCA) said Friday it has received a subpoena from the U.S. Attorney's office for the Southern District of New York. The Nashville, Tenn., hospital operator said the subpoena calls for the production of documents, and HCA believes it relates to the sale of HCA stock by Sen. William H. Frist. It plans to cooperate fully with the subpoena. The stock closed Thursday at $45.90, down 3.2%.

Agency Calls on Frist About Timing of Stock Sale

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/23/politics/23frist.html?ex=1213848000&en=f5cf4be6d0da611e&ei=5035&partner=MARKETWATCH

WASHINGTON, Sept. 22 - A spokesman for Senator Bill Frist, Republican of Tennessee, said Thursday that the Securities and Exchange Commission had contacted Mr. Frist's office about the sale in June of his shares in HCA, the giant hospital company founded by his family.

Mr. Frist, whose brother Thomas F. Frist Jr. is chairman emeritus and the largest individual shareholder of the company, disclosed earlier this week that on June 13 he asked the managers of blind trusts controlling many of his assets to sell any of his remaining shares in HCA.

The sales occurred just as the share price reached a new peak and shortly before the company's announcement in mid-July of lower-than-expected quarterly results sent the price tumbling.

Mr. Frist, the Senate majority leader and a potential presidential candidate, initially placed more than $10 million in shares of the company in his trusts, but his spokesman said he could not determine how much remained at the time of the sale.

Mr. Stevenson, the spokesman, said the securities commission had contacted Mr. Frist after news organizations published articles this week raising questions about the profitable timing of the sale. Only a few such contacts lead to formal investigations or penalties.

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