Dive Brief:
- Shareholders with Naples, Fla.-based Health Management Associates have approved the sale of the company to competitor Community Health Systems.
- The deal with Franklin, TN-based CHS values HMA's stock at $13.78 per share.
- All told, the companies that the total value of the cash and stock transaction at 7.6 billion, including HMA's debt.
Dive Insight:
The merger between these two companies is a very substantial one, and could conceivably change the face of healthcare in the US if the two parties manage to align themselves quickly and effectively enough. Wall Street seems a bit challenged by the merger, with trading on CHS stock falling 65 cents to $42.84 by close of business on Wednesday Jan. 8. (That's probably more because CHS has had a pretty lousy FY 2013.) But otherwise, it's still an open question whether this hospital mega-merger can achieve the efficiencies one would hope to see.