The U.K.'s Competition and Markets Authority has given UnitedHealth a provisional OK in response to the company's proposed acquisition of the health technology firm EMIS Group.
Bordeaux UK Holdings II — a unit of UnitedHealth's Optum business — agreed to acquire the U.K.-based EMIS Group in January 2022 in a $1.51 billion deal. The Competition and Markets Authority began investigating the proposed merger in January and referred the deal for an in-depth investigation in March.
The decision for a deeper investigation was based on concerns that the acquisition "may be expected to result in a substantial lessening of competition within a market or markets in the United Kingdom," the regulator said March 31. Now, in an Aug. 11 filing, the Competition and Markets Authority said the deal "may not be expected to result in a substantial lessening of competition in relation to the supply of medicines optimisation or population health services in the United Kingdom."
The Competition and Markets Authority said its decision is not final and interested parties can submit comments on the provisional findings by Sept. 1.