Bloomington-based HealthPartners and St. Louis Park-based Park Nicollet Health Services announced late last week that they have agreed to join operations. If the deal is approved by state and federal regulators, the merged company will have 1,500 physicians and operate under a single board of directors.

HealthPartners President and CEO Mary Brainerd will be chief executive of the merged organization, which will be called HealthPartners.

The merger would create the state’s second-largest hospital system by revenue, behind the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, according to a report by the Star Tribune. Officials told the Minneapolis newspaper that they do not expect layoffs as a result of the merger.

Furthermore, the move could open the door for other consolidations, as Minnesota hospitals and clinic systems undergo changes and compete for market share amid rising costs and the effects of federal health reform, according to the Star Tribune.

To learn more about the planned merger, read the full Star Tribune story here.