UnitedHealth Group is “tentatively scheduling” its $5.4 billion merger with LHC Group before the market opens on February 23, the home health provider reported to the Nasdaq stock market on Thursday.
In anticipation of the finalization of the deal, shares of LHC Group will cease trading at the close of the market on February 22. The company will also be struck off if the transaction is incomplete because it has not held a shareholder’s meeting in a year, which is required to remain operational. Nasdaq Exchange, the company admitted in a filing to the Securities and Exchange Commission last month.
UnitedHealth Group and the Lafayette, Louisiana-based provider are still awaiting word from the Federal Trade Commission. FTC additional information requested about the deal in June, due to which the companies postpone closing until March. companies announced the merger last March and was initially expected to close during the second half of 2022. LHC Group will be folded into the Optum subsidiary of UnitedHealth Group.
UnitedHealth Group, LHC Group and the FTC did not immediately respond to interview requests.
Health insurers have invested in home health providers as Medicare Advantage enrollment grows and carriers seek to move care to more cost-efficient settings.
CVS Health, parent company of insurer Aetna, announced in September that it would spend about $8 billion to acquire Signify Health, a home health risk assessment and physician enablement company, and Humana completed its acquisition Kindred at Home in 2021.