By Colin Kellaher

UnitedHealth Group Inc. and Change Healthcare Inc. on Tuesday said they have extended their merger agreement to Dec. 31 in the wake of the Justice Department's antitrust lawsuit challenging the nearly $8 billion deal.

UnitedHealth early last year agreed to combine its Optum health-services arm with health-technology company Change, but federal regulators in February sued to block the deal, arguing the tie-up would unlawfully reduce competition in markets for commercial insurance and the processing of claims.

UnitedHealth and Change said the challenge is without merit, and that they plan to detail the benefits of the combination to the healthcare system at a two-week trial slated to begin on Aug. 1.

As part of the extension, UnitedHealth will pay a $650 million fee to Change if the companies can't complete the merger due to the court's decision.

Write to Colin Kellaher at colin.kellaher@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 05, 2022 06:39 ET (10:39 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2022 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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