MINNEAPOLIS — Nearly a month after Minneapolis-based Fairview Health Services and Sioux Falls-based Sanford Health agreed to delay the closing of their merger, they did it again.
Fairview and Sanford officials said in a joint statement that they have extended the target "closing date for our merger until after May 31st and agreed to their request for 90 days' notice prior to closing at a future date."
Fairview and Sanford officials said they remained confident about getting the merger done but at the earliest, the target date would be now Aug. 31.
The delay comes after several weeks of negative feedback from the Minnesota legislature, community meetings and a direct request from Minnesota's Attorney General Keith Ellison to delay it.
The Attorney General's Office learned about this latest postponement last week. A.G. officials say Fairview leadership needs "to focus their attention on the critical issues facing the health system — including its declining financial condition and its relationship with the University of Minnesota."
The proposed merger, which was announced in November 2022, would create one of the largest health care providers in the country.
Sanford is one of the largest rural health systems in the U.S. and Fairview is one of the biggest in the Twin Cities.
The two health systems explored a possible merger in 2013 but the deal fell apart after concerns from state leaders over the control of the University of Minnesota Medical Center.
Fairview has over 80 primary and specialty care clinics, 31,000 employees and 11 hospitals — including the U's medical center.
Sanford has 224 primary and specialty clinics, 47,000 employees and 47 hospitals.
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