Unitedhealth to snap up LHC in $5.4bn deal

UnitedHealth Group is to acquire LHC Group in a deal worth around $5.4bn, the US health insurer confirmed on Tuesday.

UnitedHealth, the country’s largest health insurer, has agreed to pay $170 for each LHC share, representing a premium of just over 8%.

It intends to combine LHC, a provider of in-home healthcare services, with its own technology-focused services unit Optum. LHC employs around 30,000 people and currently provides around 12 million in-home interventions annually, predominantly for older patients with chronic illness and injury.

Wyatt Decker, chief executive of Optum Health, said: "LHC’s sophisticated care coordination capabilities and its warm, human touch…will greatly enhance the reach of Optum’s value-based capabilities along the full continuum of care."

Keith Myers, LHC chief executive and co-founder, said: "As part of the Optum team…we will be able to expand our patient-centred mission and help drive best care practices."

As at 1300 BST, shares in UnitedHealth were largely flat in pre-market trading, while LHC was ahead 7%.

The deal, which is subject to both shareholder and regulatory approval, is set to close in the second half of 2022. The acquisition is expected to be neutral to UnitedHealth’s outlook for adjusted net earnings this year, modestly accretive in 2023, "and advancing strongly in subsequent years", the company said.