The case for this week is: 'The Merger of UCSF Medical Center and Stanford Health Services". M&As are increasing in importance in the economy within the past two decades. With that increased interest comes increased governmental interest in the antitrust regulation of mergers. This case concerns the merger of two academic medical centers in the San Francisco bay area. It provides opportunities for you to articulate the strategic rationale for merger, from the perspective of both sides of the deal, along with the processes of planning and implementation for the combination. In addition, the case allows for analysis of the design processes for the merger, including linkages to the broader parent organizations. The discussion questions are listed below:

UCSF-Stanford Health Merger

1. What environmental and market forces were UCSF and Stanford Health dealing with in the early 1990s? Compare the positioning of these hospitals.
2. What were the strategic rationales for this merger?
3. How would you expect this merger to create value?
4. Evaluate the implementation of the merger?