MedPartners to Sell 2 State Doctor Groups

MedPartners Inc. agreed to sell its two largest California doctor groups to a small Riverside-based health-care company for an undisclosed price, as it continues to shed its bankrupt state operations and exit the physician-group-management business. KPC Global Care Inc. will buy MedPartners’ Mullikin Medical Group and Southern California Medical Corp. The two groups include 65 clinics with more than 500 doctors and 511,000 patients and make up about 50% of MedPartners’ operations in the state. But the transaction needs approval from the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Los Angeles. The state in March took control of MedPartners’ California operations and immediately placed them into bankruptcy, saying Alabama-based MedPartners didn’t have the cash to pay its bills. Last week, the company and state officials reached an agreement to settle the case, but the pact is awaiting approval from the Bankruptcy Court judge, possibly as early as today. MedPartners shares fell 13 cents to close at $6.94 on the New York Stock Exchange.