UnitedHealth To Buy Change Healthcare For $13B

UnitedHealth Group agreed to buy Change Healthcare in a deal that values the health technology company at more than US$13 billion, reported Bloomberg.

UnitedHealth will pay US$25.75 a share in cash, the companies announced in a joint statement, a 41% premium over Change Healthcare’s closing price Tuesday, January 5, of US$18.24. The US$13 billion valuation includes more than US$5 billion in debt owed by Change Healthcare.

The deal will combine Change Healthcare with UnitedHealth’s OptumInsight unit to offer software, data analytics, technology, and other services to the healthcare industry, the companies stated, adding that the combination will help simplify services around medical care to improve health outcomes and lower costs.

“Together we will help streamline and inform the vital clinical, administrative and payment processes on which health care providers and payers depend to serve patients,” Andrew Witty, president of UnitedHealth Group and CEO of Optum, said in a statement.

The deal is expected to close in the second half of 2021. Private-equity funds affiliated with Blackstone Group that own about 20% of Change Healthcare’s common stock have agreed to vote in favor of the deal, which is expected to boost UnitedHealth’s adjusted per-share earnings by 50 cents in 2022, the companies stated.

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