DaVita Divests Seven Dialysis Clinics

DaVita Inc. (NYSE: DVA) isn’t usually on the sell-side of dialysis deals. In fact, the company hasn’t announced a sale from its renal care division in the past five years. But in late March, the Federal Trade Commission ordered DaVita to divest its ownership in seven dialysis clinics. That order was part of a settlement resolving charges that DaVita’s $358 million acquisition of Renal Ventures Management, LLC would be anticompetitive. At the time of that deal’s announcement in August 2015, Renal Ventures operated 36 dialysis clinics in six states. The company’s two divisions, Multispecialty Physician Partners and Physician Venture Partners, operated infusion... Read More »

The FTC’s Recent Losses in Hospital M&A

The Federal Trade Commission’s antitrust unit has been very active in the health care sector in recent years, thanks in part to the steady beat of hospital mergers and acquisitions taking place. In 2015, 102 hospital transactions were announced, up slightly from 99 the year before. Halfway through 2016, we’ve recorded 48 hospital deals, which is keeping pace with the two previous years. The FTC challenged a few of those deals, including the NorthShore University Hospital/Advocate Health Care merger in Chicago and the Penn State Hershey Medical Center/PinnacleHealth System in Pennsylvania. The agency has notched up some significant wins in years past, most recently the December... Read More »