UK antitrust watchdog provisionally clears $1.58 bln UnitedHealth-EMIS deal (updated)
11/08/2023 07:39
(Adds background on the probe in paragraphs 3-4, company
comment in paragraph 5)
Aug 11 (Reuters) - Britain's competition regulator said
on Friday it has provisionally cleared UnitedHealth Group's
UNH.N 1.24 billion pound ($1.58 billion) acquisition of
healthcare technology firm EMIS EMISG.L .
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said it
provisionally found no competition concerns in the deal between
specialist health care tech and software companies, which
provide services to Britain's National Health Service (NHS).
Optum UK, part of U.S.-based UnitedHealth, unveiled an offer
to acquire EMIS in June last year, to position the combined
entity to provide better services to the NHS.
The CMA launched its initial merger enquiry in January and
referred the deal to a deeper probe in March after rejecting
UnitedHealth's proposed remedy of divesting some businesses.
The regulator will now publicly consult on its provisional
findings before reaching a final decision by Oct. 5, the
companies said in a separate joint statement.
($1 = 0.7871 pounds)
(Reporting by Aby Jose Koilparambil and Eva Mathews in
Bengaluru; Editing by Dhanya Ann Thoppil)
((abyjose.koilparambil@thomsonreuters.com; +919986528692;))