LHC ends strategic review, to buy back shares

(Reuters) - Home health and hospice services provider LHC Group Inc (LHCG.O) ended its strategic review and said it would continue working on its operating plan and keep buying back its shares.

LHC Group said it may repurchase up to $50 million of its outstanding shares with cash on hand or borrowings under debt facilities.

The company said in November that it would review strategic alternatives after it settled a civil inquiry by the U.S. government into Medicare reimbursement for its services.

LHC Group and peers have suffered from a series of setbacks, including reimbursement cuts, federal investigations into billing practices, and new Medicare regulations.

Sources told Reuters in March that private equity firm TPG Capital LP is considering making an offer for LHC Group.

Shares of the company, which have slipped about 2 percent since reports of the proposed bid for the company, had closed at $17.93 on Friday on the Nasdaq.

(Reporting by Vidya P L Nathan in Bangalore; Editing by Don Sebastian)