The following hospital mergers, acquisitions and general transactions took place or were announced in December, beginning with the most recent.
1. CHS to acquire majority ownership of 2 IU Health hospitals
Franklin, Tenn.-based Community Health Systems inked a definitive agreement to acquire an 80 percent ownership interest in IU Health La Porte (Ind.) Hospital and Knox, Ind.-based IU Health Starke Hospital. Under the deal, Indianapolis-based Indiana University Health will retain the remaining 20 percent ownership interest.
2. Charlevoix Area Hospital merges with Munson Healthcare
Charlevoix (Mich.) Area Hospital officially merged with Traverse City, Mich.-based Munson Healthcare.
3. Partners-Hallmark merger deal falls through
Boston-based Partners HealthCare and Medford, Mass.-based Hallmark Health System ended merger talks after putting the deal on hold earlier this year.
4. Lehigh Valley Health Network and Pocono Health System ink merger deal: 4 things to know
East Stroudsburg, Pa.-based Pocono Health System and Lehigh Valley Health Network in Allentown, Pa., signed an agreement for a full-asset merger.
5. UPMC expands footprint into N.Y., commits to invest $25M in WCA Hospital
Pittsburgh-based UPMC signed an affiliation agreement with WCA Hospital in Jamestown, N.Y., marking UPMC's first expansion into New York.
6. Daughters of Charity begins new chapter as it closes deal with hedge fund
Financially troubled Los Altos, Calif.-based Daughters of Charity Health System closed a $260 million investment deal with BlueMountain Capital Management that will keep the health system's six hospitals afloat.
7. Piedmont Healthcare, Athens Regional explore potential partnership
Athens (Ga.) Regional Health System's board of directors agreed to discuss a potential partnership with Atlanta-based Piedmont Healthcare.
8. Alaska hospital to end affiliation with Banner Health
Fairbanks (Alaska) Memorial Hospital is looking to cut ties with Banner Health, ending a 15-year affiliation with the Phoenix-based health system.
9. Silverton Health, Legacy Health ink deal to join forces
Silverton (Ore.) Health, a single-hospital system, and Legacy Health in Portland are one step closer to joining forces, as the governing boards of each organization signed a definitive agreement that outlines how the two will come together.
10. Wayne Memorial to join UNC's hospital network: 5 things to know
Chapel Hill, N.C.-based UNC Health Care is adding Wayne Memorial Hospital, based in Goldsboro, N.C., to its hospital network.
11. Jefferson University, Philadelphia University to merge
Thomas Jefferson University and Philadelphia University signed a letter of intent to merge.
12. Christus Health to expand into Colombia
Dallas-based Christus Health signed an agreement with Coomeva Cooperativa Medica in Colombia, under which Christus will assume partial ownership of several Coomeva subsidiaries.
13. Claxton-Hepburn, River Hospital to affiliate: 7 things to know
Claxton-Hepburn Medical Center in Ogdensburg, N.Y., and River Hospital in Alexandria Bay, N.Y., entered into a cooperative agreement to affiliate under the name North Star Health Alliance.
14. Kaiser to acquire Group Health in $1.8B deal: 5 things to know
Oakland, Calif.-based Kaiser Permanente signed a definitive agreement to acquire Seattle-based Group Health Cooperative, which includes a healthcare and insurance arm like Kaiser.
15. HCA's West Palm Hospital, JFK Medical Center to merge
Nashville, Tenn.-based Hospital Corporation of America plans to create Palm Beach County's largest medical center with the merger of its West Palm (Fla.) Hospital and Atlantis, Fla.-based JFK Medical Center.
16. Harrington Region revives partnership with foundation through merger: 5 things to know
Amarillo, Texas-based Harrington Regional Medical Center is set to merge with the Amarillo Area Foundation.
17. CHS signs definitive agreement to divest NJ hospital
Subsidiaries of Franklin, Tenn.-based Community Health Systems executed a definitive agreement to sell substantially all of the assets of Salem, N.J.-based The Memorial Hospital of Salem County, along with its related outpatient services, to Ontario, Calif.-based Prime Healthcare Foundation.
18. Tenet, WellStar reach agreement for sale of Tenet's Georgia hospitals
Dallas-based Tenet Healthcare and Marietta, Ga.-based WellStar Health System entered a definitive agreement in which WellStar will acquire Tenet's five hospitals in the Atlanta area.
More articles on healthcare industry transactions:
Private equity firms make a splash in healthcare M&A
10 of the most interesting healthcare transactions of 2015