NASHVILLE, Sept. 30 (UPI) -- HCA Inc., the Tennessee-based hospital company with ties to Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, says it is under formal investigation by security regulators.
Frist, whose relatives were involved in founding the healthcare company, sold his holdings in the company in June, a month before the stock price dropped sharply. The Tennessee Republican said he did so to avoid future conflicts of interest and that he was unaware of any financial problems at HCA.
An HCA spokesman refused to say whether the Securities and Exchange Commission was looking into anything beyond Frist's stock sale, the Nashville Tennesseean reported. Insiders sold $90 million in stock in the three months before HCA warned of an earnings shortfall.
"HCA has been informed that the SEC has issued a formal order of investigation relating to trading of the company's securities," the company said in a statement on its Web site posted Thursday. "The company intends to fully cooperate in this matter."
