Home healthcare company Amedisys said Monday it has agreed to be acquired by UnitedHealth Group’s Optum in an all-cash deal of $101 a share ($3.3 billion).
The bid is higher than Optum’s original offer of $100 a share for the Baton Rouge, Louisiana-based company in early June.
Home infusion company Option Care Health, which in 2017 announced plans to acquire Amedisys for $3.6 billion in stock in early May, said in a release that it had terminated its relationship with the company. companies’ merger agreement and will receive a termination fee of $106 million.
“While we are pleased with this result, Option Care Health has a long-term track record of creating value for our shareholders,” President and Chief Executive Officer John C. Rademacher said in a press release. Record. “
The transaction is subject to shareholder and regulatory approval. Under the terms of the agreement, Amedisys and UnitedHealth Group will Deal can be terminated. Amedisys to pay UnitedHealth $125 million if UnitedHealth accepts another company’s offer in breach of agreement. UnitedHealth Group to pay Amedisys $144 million if regulators block takeover.
Optum’s acquisition of home health and hospice provider LHC Group closed in February but was delayed for months after the acquisition. The FTC requested more information on the deal.
“Given the recent scrutiny of the LHC deal and the heightened antitrust scrutiny in general under the Biden administration, we wouldn’t be surprised,” said Morningstar healthcare analyst Julie Utterback “We’d like to see serious regulatory scrutiny of the deal.” Utterback said Optum’s all-cash deal creates less uncertainty about Amedisys’ value than Option Care’s all-stock bid. .
While Option Care pulled out of Amedisys competition, William Blair analyst Matt Larew said in a note Monday. Said it would explore other merger and acquisition opportunities.
The Optum-Amedisys deal follows a slew of acquisitions in the home health space over the past few years. In 2021, Humana acquired the remaining 60% of Kindred at Home in a deal worth $8.1 billion. Humana later merged Kindred into its CenterWell division. In March, CVS Health completed its $8 billion acquisition of tech home health platform Signify Health.
