St. Francis Healthcare System of Hawaii filed an objection Tuesday to the sale of its former hospitals in Liliha and Ewa to an affiliate of California hospital operator Prime Healthcare Services.

Prime Healthcare Foundation Hawaii Inc. has offered $25 million to purchase the bankrupt Hawaii Medical Centers. HMC intends to conduct an auction Jan. 5 to determine whether there are any higher offers.

St. Francis filed an objection to the auction process in U.S. Bankruptcy Court.

St. Francis — HMC’s main creditor — is owed an estimated $39 million. If a sale is approved to Prime, St. Francis would receive just $11.3 million.

“In the sale motion, Hawaii Medical Center proposes to distribute a substantial portion of the sale proceeds to creditors that are junior in priority to the claims of St. Francis,” the company said in a statement.

St. Francis also is objecting to a $625,000 “break-up” fee that would be paid to Prime if it is not chosen as the buyer. The fee would be paid before St. Francis is paid.

“The break-up fee should not take precedence over St. Francis’s claims as a secured creditor,” St. Francis said in a news release.

Until late October, St. Francis was planning to resume control of the hospitals but backed out because of financial concerns.

Under auction rules, Prime would become the new owner of the hospitals if there are no bids that are at least $875,000 more than its $25 million offer.

St Francis objected to proposed auction rules restricting it from “credit bidding” the amount of its secured claim.

In a credit bid, St. Francis could offer $39 million for the hospitals.

Meanwhile, National Medical Development Inc., a company based in Bellevue, Wash., that manages, owns and operates outpatient diagnostic imaging facilities, has filed a notice with the court to say they are an interested party.