The Federal Trade Commission has closed an investigation it had opened into a completed hospital merger in Texas, the agency announced today.
The deal had closed in April.
King Daughters, an acute care facility, was in poor financial health, and Scott & White planned to turn it into a children’s hospital.
The commission, along with the Texas Attorney General’s office, stepped in, arguing that the merger eliminated the only independent competitor to Scott & White in one Texas county.
In order to address the agencies’ concerns, Scott agreed to offer to sell King to another interested hospital chain.
The other potential buyer, the Seton Family of Hospitals, declined the offer, citing King’s deteriorating condition since the merger.
The FTC then closed its investigation.
