UnitedHealth completes Change Healthcare merger after court rejected DOJ challenge
A district court judge previously rejected a DOJ challenge to stop the merger In September
UnitedHealth Group announced it has completed its merger with health care technology company Change Healthcare.
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The multi billion-dollar merger was completed Monday, at which time Change Healthcare finished combining with UnitedHealth's health services subsidiary, Optum, according to a press release from UnitedHealth. In a filing submitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission on the same day, Change Healthcare said it had requested for Nasdaq to delist its stock from the exchange.
In this photo illustration, a UnitedHealth Group logo seen displayed on a tablet screen. (Igor Golovniov/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images / Getty Images)
The merger "will connect and simplify the core clinical, administrative and payment processes health care providers and payers depend on to service patients," the press release said. UnitedHealth, which runs one of the largest health insurers in the country, and Change first announced plans to merge in January 2021.
This Oct. 16, 2012, file photo, shows a portion of the UnitedHealth Group Inc.'s campus in Minnetonka, Minn. UnitedHealth Group reports financial results Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2020. (AP Photo/Jim Mone, File)
The completion of the UnitedHealth-Change Healthcare deal comes roughly two weeks after a district court judge denied the Department of Justice's (DOJ) request seeking to halt the multi billion-dollar merger. The DOJ first sued in February, arguing the companies combining would negatively impact competition in the health insurance and claims-processing technology markets.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UNH | UNITEDHEALTH GROUP INC. | 592.23 | -0.92 | -0.16% |
COURT REJECTS DOJ'S REQUEST TO HALT UNITEDHEALTH'S MERGER WITH CHANGE HEALTHCARE
Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter said in a Sept. 19 statement that the DOJ "respectfully disagree[ed] with the court's decision" and was "reviewing the opinion closely to evaluate next steps."
The district court judge who denied the DOJ's request to stop the merger also ordered the two companies to divest the claims payment software business ClaimsXten to private equity firm TPG Capital.