A federal judge has denied the Federal Trade Commission’s request for an injunction to block Novant Health’s plan to buy two North Carolina hospitals. The FTC argued that the acquisition would give Novant control of over 65% of the region’s inpatient market. The deal involves Novant purchasing two hospitals in the same county from Community Health Systems for $320 million. The hospitals are located just 25 minutes apart, with one now operating as a psychiatric hospital. This case represents the FTC’s efforts to prevent hospitals from merging and creating dominant players in the market, despite typically avoiding challenges to cross-market and vertical mergers.
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FTC loses bid to block Novant’s North Carolina hospital merger
