The Federal Trade Commission won court approval for a temporary restraining order to pause HCA Healthcare’s proposed acquisition of Steward Health Care System’s five hospitals in Utah, Bloomberg Law reports.
Judge Tena Campbell’s order prevents the companies from consummating their deal until 10 days after the US District Court for the District of Utah rules on the FTC’s request for a preliminary injunction or sets a different date, according to the order.
The deal between the two regional competitors would increase market concentration and hurt competition, the agency alleged in its complaint. Nashville-based HCA and Dallas-based Steward are the second and fourth-largest hospital operators respectively in the Wasatch Front region of Utah.
The FTC filed a lawsuit late last week to block the deal, which was announced in September. The agency said it would seek a restraining order to give the court time to consider a preliminary injunction preventing the merger. Read more.
