Sanford Health and UnityPoint Health late Tuesday said they have canceled their proposed merger that would have formed an $11 billion, 76-hospital system, Modern Healthcare reported.

Sanford Health, which is based in Sioux Falls, S.D., and West Des Moines-based UnityPoint Health had announced their letter of intent to merge in June. The combined entity would have ranked among the top 15 not-for-profit health systems by revenue, with operations across 26 states and more than 83,000 employees. 

Sanford Health’s president, Kelby Krabbenhoft, said in a statement that the UnityPoint board failed to embrace the vision of a new health system of national prominence.

“We were excited at the opportunity our combination would have provided to create a new health system of national prominence,” he said. “The executive management teams and physicians worked diligently for 18 months to provide a merger recommendation to the boards. We are disappointed that the UnityPoint Health board failed to embrace the vision. Our focus now is on the patients and communities we serve and the 50,000 people working tirelessly to support them.”

Executives hoped that the merger would have allowed the combined organization to become a world leader in personalized primary care.

“I’m tremendously proud of our organization and we will continue to work tirelessly to evaluate any avenue that improves the delivery of healthcare,” Kevin Vermeer, president and CEO of West Des Moines-based UnityPoint Health, said in a statement. “Sanford is an exceptional organization with a bright future ahead. UnityPoint Health moves forward with strong roots and a fierce commitment to improving the experience of the people we serve.”