Cardiovascular Care Group has paid about $38 million for MedCath Corp.'s 53 percent stake in Bakersfield Heart Hospital in California.

The deal doubles Nashville-based CCG’s stable of hospitals. The company chaired by Harry Jacobson last fall acquired Louisiana Heart Hospital in Lacombe, La., from MedCath, which has been shedding its hospital assets.

"We are committed to building centers of excellence in cardiovascular care that will transform the delivery of heart care from today's fragmented and inefficient approach into an integrated patient-centric system with superior outcomes and lower costs,” Jacobson said in a statement.

CCG’s purchase does not include any estimate of Bakersfield Hospital’s liability, if any, retained by MedCath arising out of the Department of Justice's national investigation regarding implantable cardioverter defibrillators, according to company reports. (See the full MedCath release here.) The purchase agreement obligates MedCath to indemnify CCG for 53.31 percent of BHH's liabilities arising out of the investigation for the period prior to closing.

This transaction completes all of MedCath’s divesting of its interest in hospitals — at least four other Nashville-area companies have snapped up some of its assets in recent years. According to company reports, it will now service past hospital sales agreements.