The pending merger between St. Louis-based Ascension Health Alliance and 36-hospital Tulsa, Okla.-based Marian Health System is likely to face elaborate antitrust scrutiny given the breadth of the transaction, according to a St. Louis Post-Dispatch report.
The health systems announced the acquisition last week and expect to complete the deal by the first quarter of 2013. Along with due diligence, Ascension and Marian must submit details of the transaction to the Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission since its value surpasses $68.2 million.
Tim Greaney, JD, law professor from St. Louis University Law School, said the FTC is likely to take a "market–by-market" approach in its review of the merger and determine whether it would reduce competition.
The FTC has recently complicated two major consolidation efforts: Phoebe Putney Health System's acquisition of Palmyra Park Hospital in Albany, Ga., and ProMedica Health System's acquisition of St. Luke Hospital in Toledo, Ohio.
With the addition of Marian's hospitals, Ascension Health — subsidiary of Ascension Health Alliance — would operate roughly 117 hospitals across the country.
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The health systems announced the acquisition last week and expect to complete the deal by the first quarter of 2013. Along with due diligence, Ascension and Marian must submit details of the transaction to the Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission since its value surpasses $68.2 million.
Tim Greaney, JD, law professor from St. Louis University Law School, said the FTC is likely to take a "market–by-market" approach in its review of the merger and determine whether it would reduce competition.
The FTC has recently complicated two major consolidation efforts: Phoebe Putney Health System's acquisition of Palmyra Park Hospital in Albany, Ga., and ProMedica Health System's acquisition of St. Luke Hospital in Toledo, Ohio.
With the addition of Marian's hospitals, Ascension Health — subsidiary of Ascension Health Alliance — would operate roughly 117 hospitals across the country.
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