US: Sanford Health, UnityPoint Health call off $11B merger

Sanford Health and UnityPoint Health nixed their proposed merger that would have formed an US$11 billion, 76-hospital system, reported the Wall Street Journal. 

The not-for-profit health systems announced their letter of intent to merge in June. The combined entity would have ranked among the top 15 not-for-profit health systems by revenue, with operations across 26 states and more than 83,000 employees.

Kelby Krabbenhoft, the president and CEO of Sanford, said in a statement that the UnityPoint board failed to embrace the vision of a new health system of national prominence.

“We were excited at the opportunity our combination would have provided to create a new health system of national prominence,” he said. “The executive management teams and physicians worked diligently for 18 months to provide a merger recommendation to the boards. We are disappointed that the UnityPoint Health board failed to embrace the vision. Our focus now is on the patients and communities we serve and the 50,000 people working tirelessly to support them.”

Full Content: Wall Street Journal

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