Increased consolidation in the health care sector continues to
draw media attention and antitrust scrutiny from a variety of
regulators including the Federal Trade Commission, the Antitrust
Division of the Department of Justice and state attorneys general.
As a result, health care providers and hospital systems which are
considering mergers, acquisitions and other types of strategic
partnerships or joint ventures should take steps to ensure that
they do not violate antitrust laws when sharing information
regarding the business case for a particular transaction and should
also keep in mind that failing to close a transaction can turn a
potential partner into a better-informed competitor. However, it is
not always clear what information may be shared, or with whom. It
is also difficult to know when a typical non-disclosure agreement
may fall short of the desired protections. In general, the best
practice is to establish guardrails around the diligence process
