UnitedHealth and Amedisys Extend Merger Deadline to Future Date
UnitedHealth (NY: UNT) and Amedisys (NASDAQ: AMED) have decided to extend the deadline for their $3.3 billion merger agreement into the next year. This decision comes as the deal is being closely examined by the U.S. Department of Justice, which has filed a lawsuit to stop the merger due to concerns that it could decrease competition in the home health services market.
The companies have signed a new waiver agreement, pushing the merger deadline to 10 days after a final court decision is made in the lawsuit, or December 31, 2025, whichever comes first. This was revealed in a recent filing. In the premarket trading, Amedisys’ shares saw a slight increase.
The DOJ, joined by the states of Maryland, New Jersey, and New York, is concerned that the elimination of competition between UnitedHealth and Amedisys could negatively impact patients, insurers, and nurses who rely on home health and hospice services. The companies previously planned to close the deal by December 27, but the new waiver includes a regulatory break fee of $275 million, which could rise to $325 million if they fail to divest some assets by May 1.
This is not the first time the Justice Department has taken issue with one of UnitedHealth’s deals. In February 2022, it sued to stop the company’s acquisition of the tech unit, Change Healthcare (NASDAQ: CHNG), but the deal was ultimately finalized later that year.
