UnitedHealth's $1.51 billion acquisition of EMIS Group, a health technology firm, has been approved by the U.K. Competition and Markets Authority.
Here are four things to know about the deal:
1. Bordeaux UK Holdings II, an affiliate of Optum, moved to acquire the U.K.-based EMIS Group in January 2022.
2. EMIS supplies data management systems to the U.K.'s National Health Service, including the electronic patient record system used by most NHS general practitioners.
3. The Competition and Markets Authority launched an investigation into the proposed deal in January 2023. The transaction underwent a more in-depth inquiry in March based on concerns the deal would allow Optum to limit competitors' access to the data within EMIS' patient record system or degrade its digital system connections, which others rely on for software integration.
4. Through the investigation, regulators found the deal did not raise competitive concerns, giving provisional approval for UnitedHealth in August.