BISNOW: RCCH HealthCare Partners, which is owned by Apollo Global Management, has inked a deal to acquire LifePoint Health, a chain of rural hospitals headquartered in suburban Nashville. The deal is the latest in a wave of consolidation throughout the healthcare industry.

Just last month, another major private equity player, KKR, paid $5.5B to acquire another Nashville company, Envision Healthcare Corp., which provides physician services to hospitals and owns healthcare properties.

Barclays, Citigroup, RBC Capital Markets and Credit Suisse are providing financing for the acquisition. PSP Investments Credit USA LLC and an affiliate of Qatar Investment Authority have committed to provide a portion of the debt financing.

Apollo is paying $5.6B for the healthcare company, which will be taken private once the deal is complete.The financing also includes an equity contribution from funds managed by Apollo. The purchase price of $65/share represents a premium of about 36% over LifePoint’s closing share price on July 20, the last trading day before the announcement.