Lahey Health System, Inc. plans to acquire Elliot Health System. Elliot Health had put out a request for acquisition proposals earlier in 2016 and this week it chose Lahey Health and HCA Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) as bidding finalists, sources said. "Lahey Health continually seeks collaborative partnerships with health care organizations that share our mission to deliver coordinated, high-quality care for our patients at an affordable cost," said Andrew Mastrangelo, a spokesman for Lahey hospital.

"We do not have anything to announce at this time." "Discussions are happening all the time. Sometimes they lead to something, sometimes they don't. Because of that we don't talk in any detail about discussions ongoing until we have something to announce," said Margo Catalano, Assistant Vice President of marketing for the capital division of HCA. The proposed acquisition terms submitted by Lahey and HCA were not disclosed.

A source familiar with the negotiations said the proposals could see Elliot acquired by a single organization, or could potentially purchase by a joint venture involving both Lahey and HCA. Boston Business Journal added that Elliot Health System was not immediately available for comment. Lahey declined to comment about the Elliot rumors, saying only that it is always open to partnerships.