Business Roundup: MO Hospitals Join Forces

St. Joseph's MC, U of MD Medical System Finalize Merger
Baltimore Business Journal is reporting that the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore will finalize its long-expected merger St. Joseph's Medical Center around Nov. 1.

HealthLeaders Media contacted the press office at UMMC on Friday but they said they weren't ready to announce the details of the deal.

The assets only acquisition has been underway since March, when St. Joseph's parent Catholic Health Initiatives announced it would negotiate exclusively with the University of Maryland to acquire the Towson hospital, the Business Journal reported. However, the closing date has been delayed for three months for unspecified reasons.

McKesson Corp. Buys PSS World Medical Inc. in $2.1B Deal
Of course, hospitals aren't the only corner of the healthcare marketplace that is seeing acquisition and consolidation.

Healthcare HIT giant McKesson Corp. announced last week that it will purchase PSS World Medical, Inc. for $29 per share in cash. The total transaction, including the assumption of PSS World Medical's outstanding debt, is valued at approximately $2.1 billion, but is still subject to approval by the PSS shareholders.