A proposed $5.4 billion merger between UnitedHealth Group and LHC Group will not complete as planned by the end of the year, the company later revealed to the Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday. Three.
LHC Group, a home health care provider, did not specify why it moved its goal of completing the agreement to March. The two companies did not immediately respond to requests for interviews.
UnitedHealth Corporation announced plan to buy LHC this March and incorporated it into its Optum healthcare subsidiary.
The The Federal Trade Commission has requested more information about the deal in June, extending it by 30 days, a period in which companies must wait before closing the deal if the regulator approves it. The FTC, which did not respond to a request for an interview, at the time did not disclose why it was scrutinizing the proposed deal.
The two companies certified their substantial compliance with the FTC’s requirement on Tuesday, according to LHC Group’s SEC filings.
The delay comes a month after the Justice Department Its challenge innovation to UnitedHealth Group’s $13 billion acquisition of technology company Change Healthcare. One Federal judge dismisses agency’s request tried to block the transaction because of antitrust concerns in September, and the two companies merged soon after. New York and Minnesota also appealed the court’s decision.
