SMBI Symbion (MM)

Symbion, Inc. (NASDAQ/NM:SMBI), an owner and operator of short stay surgery centers, announced today that it has acquired a majority interest and consolidating position in Cypress Surgery Center, LLC, a multi-specialty ambulatory surgery center located in Wichita, Kansas. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Cypress Surgery Center, with six operating rooms and two special procedure rooms, began operations in July 2000. Presently, there are 38 active physician partners providing a full range of services to a population of approximately 1.2 million throughout 49 counties in southern Kansas. Commenting on the acquisition, Richard E. Francis, Jr., chairman and chief executive officer of Symbion, said, "We believe the acquisition of Cypress Surgery Center represents a great opportunity for growth as the center is located in a rapidly growing medical corridor. Currently, plans are underway to expand the facility to include two additional special procedure rooms. We look forward to working with the outstanding group of physician partners and healthcare professionals associated with this center to further expand the scope of services for patients served." Symbion, Inc., headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee, owns and operates a network of 60 short stay surgery centers in 22 states. The Company's centers provide non-emergency surgical procedures across many specialties. This press release contains forward-looking statements based on management's current expectations and projections about future events and trends that they believe may affect the Company's financial condition, results of operations, business strategy and financial needs. The words "anticipate," "believe," "continue," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "plan," "will" and similar expressions are generally intended to identify forward-looking statements. These statements, including those regarding the Company's growth and continued success, have been included in reliance on the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements involve risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results to differ from the expectations expressed in the statements. Many of these factors are beyond the ability of the Company to control or predict. These factors include, without limitation: (i) the Company's dependence on payments from third-party payors, including government health care programs and managed care organizations; (ii) the Company's ability to acquire and develop additional surgery centers on favorable terms; (iii) numerous business risks in acquiring and developing additional surgery centers, including potential difficulties in operating and integrating such surgery centers; (iv) efforts to regulate the construction, acquisition or expansion of health care facilities; (v) the risk that the Company's revenues and profitability could be adversely affected if it fails to attract and maintain good relationships with the physicians who use its facilities; (vi) the Company's ability to comply with applicable laws and regulations, including health care regulations, corporate governance laws and financial reporting standards; (vii) risks related to the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 and future legislation, which could restrict the Company's ability to operate its facilities licensed as hospitals and could adversely impact its reimbursement revenues; (viii) the risk of changes to physician self-referral laws that may require the Company to restructure some of its relationships, which could result in a significant loss of revenues and divert other resources; (ix) the Company's significant indebtedness; (x) the intense competition for physicians, strategic relationships, acquisitions and managed care contracts, which may result in a decline in the Company's revenues, profitability and market share; (xi) the geographic concentration of the Company's operations, which makes the Company particularly sensitive to regulatory, economic and other conditions in certain states; (xii) the Company's dependence on its senior management; (xiii) the Company's ability to enhance operating efficiencies at its surgery centers; and (xiv) other risks and uncertainties detailed from time to time in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. In light of the significant uncertainties inherent in the forward-looking statements contained in this press release, you should not place undue reliance on them. The Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements or to make any other forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.