Sanford, Fairview to delay merger
Sanford Health and Fairview Health Services are postponing their $14 billion merger until May 31, the nonprofit health systems announced.
The delay came weeks after Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison (D) asked the companies to slow down the deal, which was set to close by March 31, while his office continued its review. At the time, Sioux Falls, South Dakota-based Sanford Health and Minneapolisbased Fairview Health Services said they were cooperating with Ellison.
If approved, the merger would create a 50-hospital system with 80,000 employees under the Sanford Health name.
“We continue to work cooperatively with the attorney general’s office to ensure they have the information necessary for their review. In the meantime, we continue to do the important planning work within our organizations to be ready to best serve our patients and people on day one following close,” the companies said in a joint news release regarding the postponement.
According to Ellison’s office, however, Sanford and Fairview have not provided all the information the regulator requested.
The University of Minnesota, which is home to a Fairview hospital, has also expressed concern that its interests have not been fully considered. Sanford Health President and CEO Bill Gassen told community members in January that the merged company would honor its standing agreements, set to expire in 2026, with the university and its medical center.
Sanford and Fairview planned to merge a decade ago but the deal fell through in 2013 amid pushback from then-Minnesota Attorney
n General Lori Swanson (D).