1 Min Read
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -A U.S. judge on Monday denied the Justice Department’s request to stop UnitedHealth Group from buying Change Healthcare, according to a court filing.
Change’s shares rose 7% after the close of trading.
The Justice Department filed a lawsuit in February aimed at stopping the $8 billion acquisition, saying the deal would give the largest U.S. health insurer access to its competitors’ data and ultimately push up healthcare costs.
UnitedHealth announced the all-cash deal in January 2021, saying it would help streamline administrative and payment processes.
Judge Carl Nichols said in a brief order on Monday that he would deny the government’s request to stop the deal, and ordered the companies to go forward with an asset sale that they had proposed.
Reporting by Diane Bartz; editing by Jonathan Oatis and Deepa Babington
