Merger of Saint Peter’s and Atlantic Health abandoned

Diving brief:

• Saint Peter’s Health System and Atlantic Health abandoned their merger plans Monday, citing impacts from the “rapidly changing health care landscape nationwide.”
• The New Jersey-based health systems first announced plans to combine in January of last year and signed a definitive agreement to merge in June 2024.
• The systems shared few details about why the deal fell through. However, in a joint statement released Monday, Atlantic Chairman and CEO Saad Ehtisham and Saint Peter’s President and CEO Leslie Hirsch called the end of the deal disappointing.

Dive overview:

The proposed deal would have joined Atlantic’s more than 550 care sites, including eight hospitals, with the unique 478-bed Saint Peter’s Hospital and other outpatient care facilities.

This failed deal constitutes the second merger failure for Saint-Pierre in recent years. New Brunswick Health System and RWJBarnabas Health sought to merge in 2020. However, the health systems called off the merger in 2022 after the Federal Trade Commission sued to block the deal, alleging it would reduce competition.

Healthcare M&A has been depressed this year compared to 2024. During the second quarter, only eight deals were announced — the lowest quarter since at least 2017, according to Kaufman Hall data.

The consulting firm attributed some of the decline in activity to business challenges, as well as uncertainty over federal and state policies. Although the consulting firm hoped to see a rebound in mergers and acquisitions during the second half of 2025, it conditioned this forecast on providers’ feelings of stability.

Instead, the industry has been hit by continued political pressures since July, including looming Medicaid cuts, tariffs on pharmaceuticals, fee hikes for H-1B visa applications and a government shutdown as lawmakers deal with the expiration of Affordable Care Act subsidies.