Amedisys drops on report DOJ preparing lawsuit to block UnitedHealth deal

Amedisys (NASDAQ:AMED) fell 2% in premarket trading on a report that the Dept. of Justice has signed off on a lawsuit to challenge UnitedHealth’s $3.3 billion purchase of the home-health services provider.

DOJ antitrust officials are expected to file the lawsuit as soon as this week, according to a Bloomberg report on Tuesday, which cited people familiar with the matter. The regulators are worried that the deal could lead to higher prices in home health care in areas where Amedisys primary competitor is UnitedHealth’s LHC Group.

UnitedHealth and Amedisys didn’t respond to requests for comment from Bloomberg. The Justice Department declined to comment.

The news comes after a report on Monday that the DOJ was leaning toward filing a lawsuit to block the UnitedHealth (UNH) deal this week.

Amedisys (AMED) agreed to a $101 a share sale to UnitedHealth in late June of last year, Amedisys announced in August 2023 that it received a request from the DOJ for more information regarding its planned sale to UnitedHealth (UNH). The companies have said they expect the deal to be completed by the end of the year.

UnitedHealth (UNH) in late June announced an agreement with VitalCaring Group to sell some of the two companies’ healthcare centers. The divestiture was being done to appease Department of Justice antitrust concerns over the more than $3B deal.