Dive Brief:
- Hackensack Medical Center and Meridian Health have signed a definitive agreement to merge, which would create the largest hospital network in NJ. The combined system would include more than 23,000 employees and $3.4 billion in revenues.
- If approved by the state attorney general, Hackensack Meridian Health's system will include 11 hospitals and two children's hospitals with a large network of outpatient services developed by Meridian.
- Hackensack with Seton Hall University are also planning a private medical school, which has already been approved by the state board of medical examiners. The search for a dean is underway.
Dive Insight:
The merger march continues in 2015. There were 95 hospital deals announced in 2014—up 44% from 2010—according to a new analysis by Kaufman Hall. "We are seeing more transactions designed to form large, fully integrated health systems, as well as more partnerships being explored between strong community hospitals and small health systems," said managing director Patrick Allen.
This is still a significant deal, however, so both parties will expect a certain degree of regulatory scrutiny. The FTC has been increasingly successful in its efforts to block deals which it sees as anticompetitive, winning a series of cases regarding hospital mergers in the last two years, including deals in Albany, GA, Toledo, OH and Rockford, IL.