Amedisys Accepts UnitedHealth's Sweetened Offer, Scraps Option Deal

(RTTNews) - Home health and hospice caregiver Amedisys (AMED) on Monday agreed to be acquired by UnitedHealth Group (UNH) and terminated its deal with Option Care Health (OPCH).

Amedisys will merge with UnitedHealth's subsidiary Optum after receiving a $3.3 billion sweetened cash offer.

UnitedHealth is buying Amedisys for $100 per share, which represents a 26% premium over Amedisys' most recent closing share price and a premium of 29% to the unaffected Amedisys share price of $77.26. Optum's proposal has no financing contingency or condition and does not require shareholder approval.

"The combination of Amedisys with Optum unites two organizations dedicated to providing compassionate, value-based comprehensive care to patients and their families," Amedisys said in the announcement.

The announcement ends the bidding war that started this month when Optum made an unsolicited proposal of $3.26 billion to acquire the home health, hospice, and high-acuity care provider.

Last month, Option Care Health made a bid at the company of approximately $3.6 billion, including the assumption of net debt.

Option Care Health will now receive a $106 million termination fee, which the company plans to use for its established capital allocation strategy.

"While we are disappointed in this outcome, Option Care Health has a long track record of delivering value for our shareholders," John C. Rademacher, president and CEO of Option Care Health, said in an announcement. "We take a disciplined approach to acquisitions and, as we evaluated our options, we applied this discipline to ensure we continue to create value for all of our key stakeholders."