A long-proposed merger of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and Mercy Hospital will not be completed today as expected because federal regulators have not approved the deal. No final date was ever set for the closing.
The $120 million merger, announced in September, had been scheduled to be final today, according to records filed by UPMC and Mercy in the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas
"We are still looking at it," said Mitch Katz, a spokesman for the Federal Trade Commission, whose approval is necessary to move the deal forward.
Katz would not give a reason for the delay.
In March, UPMC officials said the FTC had asked for more details about the merger because it wanted to examine its competitive implications in greater detail.
But concerns about the deal were placated in May when state Attorney General Tom Corbett approved the transaction after what he called a thorough eight-month review.
Yesterday, UPMC spokeswoman Wendy Zellner said UPMC remains confident the FTC will see the benefits of the transaction for Mercy's patients, employees and the community at large.
Likewise, officials at Mercy, who in the past said the merger is needed to salvage the money-losing hospital, said they look forward to the completion of the deal.
"We continue to believe that Mercy's merger with UPMC is the best option for the community, as underscored by the Attorney General's consent decree," spokeswoman Linda K. Ross wrote in an e-mail.
