UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 8-K

CURRENT REPORT

Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the

Securities Exchange Act of 1934

Date of report (Date of earliest event reported): January 3, 2025

Regional Health Properties, Inc.

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in its Charter)

Georgia

001-33135

81-5166048

(State or Other Jurisdiction
of Incorporation)

(Commission
File Number)

(I.R.S. Employer

Identification No.)

1050 Crown Pointe Parkway

Suite 720

Atlanta, Georgia 30338

(Address of Principal Executive Offices, and Zip Code)

(678) 869-5116

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

Not applicable.

(Former Name or Former Address, if Changed Since Last Report)

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions (see General Instruction A.2. below):

☒	Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)

☐	Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)

☐	Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))

☐	Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Title of each class	Trading Symbol(s)	Name of each exchange on which registered
Common Stock, no par value	RHE	NYSE American
Series A Redeemable Preferred Shares, no par value	RHE-PA	NYSE American

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933 (17 CFR §230.405) or Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (17 CFR §240.12b-2).

Emerging growth company ☐

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐

Item 8.01 Other Events

On January 6, 2025, Regional Health Properties, Inc., a Georgia corporation (“Regional”), and SunLink Health Systems, Inc., a Georgia corporation (“SunLink”), issued a joint press release announcing the execution of an Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated as of January 3, 2025 (the “Merger Agreement”), by and between Regional and SunLink, pursuant to which, upon the terms and subject to the conditions set forth therein, SunLink will merge with and into Regional, with Regional continuing as the surviving entity. A copy of the joint press release is attached hereto as Exhibit 99.1 and is incorporated by reference herein.

Item 9.01 Financial Statements and Exhibits

(d) Exhibits

Exhibit Number		Description
99.1		Joint Press Release, dated as of January 6, 2025
104		Cover Page interactive data file (embedded within the Inline XBRL document)

* * *

NO OFFER OR SOLICITATION

Communications in this Current Report on Form 8-K shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities or a solicitation of any proxy vote or approval, nor shall there be any sale of securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction. No offer of securities shall be made except by means of a prospectus meeting the requirements of Section 10 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”).

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

The proposed merger will be submitted to both the Regional and SunLink shareholders for their consideration. In connection with the proposed merger, Regional will file a Registration Statement on Form S-4 (the “Registration Statement”) with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) that will include a joint proxy statement/prospectus for Regional and SunLink and other relevant documents concerning the proposed merger.

INVESTORS ARE URGED TO READ THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT AND THE CORRESPONDING JOINT PROXY STATEMENT/PROSPECTUS REGARDING THE PROPOSED MERGER WHEN IT BECOMES AVAILABLE, AS WELL AS ANY OTHER RELEVANT DOCUMENTS FILED WITH THE SEC, TOGETHER WITH ALL AMENDMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTS TO THOSE DOCUMENTS, AS THEY WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION.

You will be able to obtain a copy of the joint proxy statement/prospectus once filed, as well as other filings containing information about Regional and SunLink, without charge, at the SEC’s website (http://www.sec.gov) or by accessing Regional’s website (http://www.regionalhealthproperties.com) under the tab “Investor Relations” or by accessing SunLink’s website (http://www.sunlinkhealth.com) under the tab “Investors.” Copies of the joint proxy statement/prospectus and the filings with the SEC that will be incorporated by reference in the joint proxy statement/prospectus can also be obtained, without charge, by directing a request to Investor Relations, Regional Health Properties, Inc., 1050 Crowne Point Parkway, Suite 720, Atlanta, Georgia, 30338, telephone 678-869-5116 or to Investor Relations, SunLink Health Systems, Inc., 900 Circle 75 Parkway, Suite 690, Atlanta, Georgia, 30339, telephone 770-933-7004.

Regional and SunLink and certain of their directors and executive officers may be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of proxies from the shareholders of Regional and SunLink in connection with the proposed merger. Information about the directors and executive officers of Regional is set forth in the proxy statement for Regional’s 2024 annual meeting of shareholders, as filed with the SEC on Schedule 14A on December 13, 2024, which information may be updated by Regional from time to time in subsequent filings with the SEC. Information about the directors and executive officers of SunLink is set forth in the proxy statement for SunLink’s 2024 annual meeting of shareholders, as filed with the SEC on Schedule 14A on June 6, 2024, which information may be updated by SunLink from time to time in subsequent filings with the SEC. Additional information about the interests of those participants and other persons who may be deemed participants in the transaction may also be obtained by reading the joint proxy statement/prospectus relating to the proposed merger when it becomes available. Free copies of this document may be obtained as described above.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This Current Report on Form 8-K contains forward-looking statements made pursuant to the safe-harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Such forward-looking statements can often, but not always, be identified by the use of words like “believe”, “continue”, “pattern”, “estimate”, “project”, “intend”, “anticipate”, “expect” and similar expressions or future or conditional verbs such as “will”, “would”, “should”, “could”, “might”, “can”, “may”, or similar expressions. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements relating to the expected timing and benefits of the proposed merger between Regional and SunLink, including future financial and operating results, cost savings, enhanced revenues, and accretion/dilution to reported earnings that may be realized from the merger, as well as other statements of expectations regarding the merger, and other statements of Regional’s goals, intentions and expectations; statements regarding Regional’s business plan and growth strategies; and estimates of Regional’s risks and future costs and benefits, whether with respect to the merger or otherwise.

These forward-looking statements are subject to significant risks, assumptions and uncertainties that may cause results to differ materially from those set forth in forward-looking statements, including, among other things:

	●	the risk that the businesses of Regional and SunLink will not be integrated successfully or such integration may be more difficult, time-consuming or costly than expected;

	●	expected revenue synergies and cost savings from the merger may not be fully realized or realized within the expected time frame;

	●	revenues following the merger may be lower than expected;

	●	customer, vendor and employee relationships and business operations may be disrupted by the merger;

	●	the ability to obtain required regulatory approvals or the approvals of Regional’s or SunLink’s shareholders, and the ability to complete the merger on the expected timeframe;

	●	the costs and effects of litigation and the possible unexpected or adverse outcomes of such litigation;

	●	the ability or Regional and SunLink to meet the continued listing requirements of the NYSE American LLC and to maintain the listing of securities thereon;

	●	possible changes in economic and business conditions;

	●	the impacts of epidemics, pandemics or other infectious disease outbreaks;

	●	the existence or exacerbation of general geopolitical instability and uncertainty;

	●	possible changes in monetary and fiscal policies, and laws and regulations;

	●	competitive factors in the healthcare industry;

	●	Regional’s dependence on the operating success of its operators;

	●	the amount of, and Regional’s ability to service, its indebtedness;

	●	covenants in Regional’s debt agreements that may restrict its ability to make investments, incur additional indebtedness and refinance indebtedness on favorable terms;

	●	the effect of increasing healthcare regulation and enforcement on Regional’s operators and the dependence of Regional’s operators on reimbursement from governmental and other third-party payors;

	●	the relatively illiquid nature of real estate investments;

	●	the impact of litigation and rising insurance costs on the business of Regional’s operators;

	●	the effect of Regional’s operators declaring bankruptcy, becoming insolvent or failing to pay rent as due;

	●	the ability of any of Regional’s operators in bankruptcy to reject unexpired lease obligations and to impede its ability to collect unpaid rent or interest during the pendency of a bankruptcy proceeding and retain security deposits for the debtor’s obligations;

	●	Regional’s ability to find replacement operators and the impact of unforeseen costs in acquiring new properties; and

	●	other risks and factors identified in (i) Regional’s cautionary language included under the headings “Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements” and “Risk Factors” in Regional’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023, and other documents subsequently filed by Regional with the SEC and (ii) SunLink’s cautionary language included under the headings “Forward-Looking Statements” and “Risk Factors” in SunLink’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended June 30, 2024, and other documents subsequently filed by SunLink with the SEC.

Neither Regional nor SunLink undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statement, whether written or oral, relating to the matters discussed in this Current Report on Form 8-K. In addition, Regional’s and SunLink’s past results of operations do not necessarily indicate either of their anticipated future results, whether the merger is effectuated or not.

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.

	REGIONAL HEALTH PROPERTIES, INC.

Date: January 6, 2025	/s/ Brent Morrison
	Brent Morrison
	Chief Executive Officer and President

Regional Health Properties Inc. filed SEC Form 8-K: Other Events, Financial Statements and Exhibits