(Reuters) -The U.S. Division of Justice and three U.S. states filed a lawsuit on Tuesday to dam UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:)’s $3.3 billion acquisition of Amedisys Inc (NASDAQ:), citing issues that the deal would cut back competitors within the house well being companies market.
“Eliminating the competitors between UnitedHealth and Amedisys would hurt sufferers who obtain house well being and hospice companies, insurers who contract for house well being companies, and nurses who present house well being and hospice companies,” the DOJ stated in a press release.
The attorneys generals of Maryland, New Jersey and New York are additionally suing to dam the merger.
UnitedHealth didn’t instantly reply to Reuters’ requests for remark.
A spokesperson for Amedisys stated the corporate stays dedicated to the transaction. “We sit up for supporting Optum in presenting our case,” the corporate stated.
UnitedHealth operates Optum, a well being companies unit that gives analytics, analysis and pharmacy care companies amongst others.
Following the information, UnitedHealth’s shares fell 1.1% in afternoon buying and selling. Amedisys’ inventory was down 1.3% at $91.50 in afternoon buying and selling and is now over 9% beneath UnitedHealth’s provide value of $101 per share.
UnitedHealth introduced its intention to accumulate Amedisys final 12 months, however analysts anticipated regulatory scrutiny attributable to UnitedHealth’s presence within the house well being sector.
The transfer follows a current assembly between the businesses’ executives and the DOJ geared toward addressing these issues, in accordance with Bloomberg Information, which first reported the story on Tuesday.
To mitigate antitrust points, Amedisys proposed promoting over 100 places to a non-public operator in Texas, contingent upon the deal’s completion, Stephens analyst Scott Fidel stated.
“These cures don’t appear enough to fulfill the hardline Biden DOJ … Clearly, we’ll look to see whether or not a Trump DOJ decides to pursue or drop this case in 2025,” he added.
The Justice Division sued to halt UnitedHealth’s acquisition of Change Healthcare (NASDAQ:) in February 2022, however the transaction was accomplished later that 12 months.
