[UPDATED] Optum Closes $5.4 Billion LHC Group Acquisition

The UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH) subsidiary Optum closed its $5.4 billion deal today to acquire LHC Group (NASDAQ: LHCG). 

LHC Group this morning notified the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that the deal had been completed and that it would no longer be trading on the NASDAQ. Optum first announced its agreement to purchase the Lafayette, Louisiana-based home health and hospice provider in March 2022. 

“LHC Group’s history of high-quality home and community-based care, matched with Optum’s extensive value-based care experience and resources, will accelerate Optum’s ability to deliver compassionate, high-touch, integrated care,” LHC Group indicated in the SEC filing. “As demand for care in the home increases, this combination will help elevate the health care experience for the people Optum and LHC Group serve, prioritizing quality and seamless coordination that reduces fragmentation and complexity.”

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LHC Group delivers hospice, home health, home- and community-based services, and facility-based care to seniors in 37 states and the District of Columbia.

The company’s board and executive leaders began discussions of a possible sale beginning in November 2021. The conversations included several potential buyers, including UnitedHealth Group. Soon after, the company engaged investment banks SVB Securities and Jeffries to lay the groundwork for a deal, according to an earlier SEC filing last May.

The closing follows a series of delays as regulators, including the Federal Trade Commission, closely examined the transaction’s terms and process. The two companies initially expected to complete the deal last year, but later indicated a Q1 2023 closing date.

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The transaction is indicative of the rising importance of the home setting among payers as well as providers. UnitedHealth Group has been positioning Optum as a cornerstone of its growing home-based care infrastructure and value-based service delivery.

The insurance behemoth has deployed billions in capital to fortify Optum’s capabilities through a number of high-profile acquisitions, including the health care tech firm Change Healthcare and the in-home medical group Landmark Health. A key attractor is the potential cost savings associated with risk-based payment systems like Medicare Advantage, in which UnitedHealth Care is one of the largest players.

“I’d really think about the way we’ve built the home capabilities as a substantial extension of what we’re able to do in the clinical space … That’s a super important part of the environment,” UnitedHealth Group CEO Andrew Witty said in an earnings call. “That is resonating super strongly, not just with UnitedHealthcare, but with other payers as well. And there’s no doubt that this side of the agenda has caught the imagination of other payers.”

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