Implication of of St. Luke's Merger Decision for Future Mergers in the Health Care Market

In late January, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) prevailed again St. Luke's Health System's acquisition of the Saltzer Medical Group, as a violation of section 7 of the Clayton Act and the Idaho Competition Act. St. Luke's Health System lost its appeal.

This and other similar cases are shaping the future of mergers and acquisitions at a time of rapid consolidation and integration in the U.S. health care market. Driven by the Affordable Care Act, the health care sector is experiencing increasing volumes of M&A, innovative JVs and other integrated models of care. How will the industry manage the tension between the FTC and DOJ's antitrust principals and the market reality in health care transactions?

At the annual Healthcare Deal Making Summit, Jack Bierig, Partner at Sidley Austin, lead attorney for St. Luke's Health System and Lisa Nolan Ahern, Managing Director with AlixPartners, an expert witness on the case will be joined by David Argue, Corporate Vice President and Principal at Economists Incorporated to give the presentation "Reconciling Economies of Scale and Antitrust." Their presentation will discuss how to avoid the major antitrust hurdles in order to avoid antitrust concerns.

In addition, the Summit will feature key health care industry insiders and financiers from HCA Healthcare Inc., Allegheny Health Networks, University of Kentucky, Mission Point Health Partners, The Health Collaborative, Medcare Investment Funds, One Management Service Co., Crestone Practice Solutions, National Church Residences, Diversicare Healthcare Services, Brookdale Senior Living, Cressey & Co., Spindletop Capital, Care Investment Trust, MTS Health Partners, Bank of American Merrill Lynch, KeyBanc Capital Markets, GE Capital, Coker Group, Houlihan Lokey, Van der Walde & Co., Nashville Healthcare Council, Gemino Healthcare Finance, Strategic Insight Group, among many others.

Attend and join these health care industry insiders as they explore the business strategies and new models of care, and help identify the best investment opportunities in the still evolving post-Affordable Care Act world.

For more information, to register, or join us as a sponsor, please visit the event website at www.infocastinc.com/healthcare-deal or contact Infocast at 818-888-4444.