BY Richard Summerfield
UnitedHealth Group has agreed to acquire home health and hospice caregiver Amedisys in a deal worth $3.3bn.
Under terms of the deal, Optum, the diversified health care services arm of UnitedHealth Group, will acquire Amedisys in an all-cash transaction for $101 per share. Optum previously made a bid to buy Amedisys for $100 per share. The agreed price represents a 10.7 percent premium to Friday’s closing price of $91.21.
“The combination of Amedisys with Optum unites two organizations dedicated to providing compassionate, value-based comprehensive care to patients and their families”, Amedisys wrote in a statement announcing the deal.
Once the deal closes Amedisys will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of UnitedHealth.
“Amedisys’ commitment to quality and care innovation within the home, and the patient-first culture of its people, combined with Optum’s deep value-based care expertise can drive meaningful improvement in the health outcomes and experiences of more patients at lower costs, leading to continued growth,” said Patrick Conway, chief executive of Optum Care Solutions.
The deal for Amedisys also led to the cancellation of an all-stock deal between Amedisys and Option Care Health. As part of the mutual termination agreement, Option Care Health will receive a $106m termination fee. Consistent with Option Care Health’s commitment to creating shareholder value, the company will incorporate the termination fee into its established capital allocation strategy, it noted in a statement.
“While we are disappointed in this outcome, Option Care Health has a long track record of delivering value for our shareholders,” said John C. Rademacher, president and chief executive of Option Care Health. “We take a disciplined approach to acquisitions and, as we evaluated our options, we applied this discipline to ensure we continue to create value for all of our key stakeholders.
“Option Care Health benefits from a leading platform in home and alternate site infusion services and a proven track record of execution,” he continued. “We remain confident in our growth trajectory, which is underpinned by current industry trends and market forces as well as our strong financial position. Our team is committed to serving all our stakeholders by providing unsurpassed care and superior clinical outcomes in the home or ambulatory setting, and we will continue to identify ways to increase the value we can deliver.”
In-home medical services are becoming an area of focus for healthcare companies, with several notable deal occurring in the space in the US. Earlier this year, CVS Health spent $8bn on Signify Health as part of its effort to add a home care provider and boost its healthcare and technology platform.
News: Amedisys agrees to $3.3 bln UnitedHealth offer, scraps Option Care deal