Change Healthcare, UnitedHealth honor DOJ info request, amend timing of merger
Radiology vendor Change Healthcare and UnitedHealth Group have complied with a Department of Justice request to furnish more information about their proposed merger, officials said Wednesday.
The two companies first announced their $13 billion union back in January, with the DOJ launching an investigation in March amid anticompetitive concerns. After honoring the Justice Department’s demands, Change and UnitedHealth said they entered into an amended agreement Nov. 1 dictating the timing of the deal.
“The parties have been working cooperatively with the DOJ and will continue to do so,” Change said in a Nov. 3 announcement.
Both have agreed not to consummate the merger before Feb. 22, 2022, almost a year after the acquisition was first announced. UnitedHealth—which also operates the nation’s largest commercial insurance plan—is acquiring all of Change’s outstanding shares for $25.75 apiece, cash. All told, the Minnetonka, Minnesota, firm is paying $8 billion to acquire Nashville-based Change while also assuming $5 billion more in debt.
Several parties have spoken out against the company’s proposed combination, including Change’s stockholders, the American Medical Association, the American Antitrust Institute and the American Hospital Association. Most recently, the National Community Pharmacists Association voiced its concerns, calling the combined entity a “corporate monster” that will “gobble up more market share.”
Change Healthcare said it plans to host a conference call regarding the transaction early Thursday morning.
Marty Stempniak has covered healthcare since 2012, with his byline appearing in the American Hospital Association's member magazine, Modern Healthcare and McKnight's. Prior to that, he wrote about village government and local business for his hometown newspaper in Oak Park, Illinois. He won a Peter Lisagor and Gold EXCEL awards in 2017 for his coverage of the opioid epidemic.