A proposed $5.4 billion merger between UnitedHealth Group and LHC Group will not complete as planned by the end of the year, LHC Group revealed to the Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday.
LHC Group, a home health care provider, did not specify why it moved its goal of completing the agreement to March. The two companies did not immediately respond to requests for interviews.
UnitedHealth Group announced plans to acquire LHC this March and merge it into healthcare subsidiary Optum.
The Federal Trade Commission requested more information about the deal in June, extending it by 30 days, the amount of time companies must wait before closing a deal if the regulator approves it. The FTC, which did not respond to a request for an interview, at the time did not disclose why it was scrutinizing the proposed deal.
The two companies certified their substantial compliance with the FTC’s requirement on Tuesday, according to LHC Group’s SEC filings.
The delay comes a month after the Justice Department extended its challenge to UnitedHealth Group’s $13 billion acquisition of technology company Change Healthcare. A federal judge dismissed the agency’s attempt to block the transaction over antitrust concerns in September, and the two companies merged soon after. New York and Minnesota also appealed the court’s decision.
