North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein will not object to Novant Health's $5.3 billion deal to purchase New Hanover Regional Medical Center in Wilmington, N.C., the office wrote in a letter dated Jan. 21.
The letter comes after the health systems agreed to increase transparency into the new endowment and board, improve accountability to the public and ensure independence of the new local board of directors.
In July 2020, Winston-Salem, N.C.-based Novant Health won a bid to partner with New Hanover. It was competing with two other health systems to acquire the medical center.
Under the agreement, Novant Health committed to investing more than $5 billion in the medical center. The commitment includes more than $1.5 billion in upfront cash for the medical center and $3.1 billion for various capital projects. Novant said the financial commitment to New Hanover will ensure support for "information technology and quality initiatives, improvements to existing facilities, new construction and other strategic capital."
Under the agreement, a new regional local endowment board will oversee the hospital.
The deal needs approval from the attorney general to move forward. The attorney general will sign off on the deal when it closes.