Home health and hospice provider Amedisys received an unsolicited all-cash, $3.26 billion ($100 per share) offer Monday from UnitedHealth, through its Optum unit, to acquire all of the outstanding shares of Amedisys’ common stock. The news of the May 26 offer was disclosed Monday.

Optum, a division of UnitedHealth Group, this year acquired home health, personal care and hospice firm LHC Group for $5.4 billion. In 2021, LHC had bought a majority stake in Brookdale Senior Living’s home health, hospice and therapy business from HCA Healthcare, to which Brookdale had sold an 80% stake earlier in the year.

“Amedisys’ commitment to quality and care innovation within the home, and the patient-first culture of its people, combined with Optum’s deep value-based care expertise, can drive meaningful improvement in the health outcomes and experiences of more patients at lower costs, leading to continued growth,” Optum Care Solutions CEO Patrick Conway, MD, said in a statement. 

The offer comes weeks after Amedisys and Option Care Health, an alternate site infusion services provider, disclosed that they had entered into a merger agreement to combine in an all-stock transaction that values Amedisys at approximately $3.6 billion. The purchase price includes Option’s assumption of Amedisys’ net debt.

As McKnight’s previously reported, that transaction prompted speculation about Baton Rouge, LA-based Amedisys’ strategy behind the deal. One home care mergers and acquisitions expert predicted a takeover by a large health insurance company. 

According to Monday’s press release, as permitted by the terms of Amedisys’ merger agreement with Option Care Health, Amedisys entered into a confidentiality agreement with Optum on May 30 and currently is in “exploratory discussions” with Optum regarding Optum’s proposal.

“Option Care Health’s previously announced definitive merger agreement with Amedisys delivers significant value to Amedisys and Option Care Health stockholders, a high degree of certainty in obtaining the required regulatory approvals due to the complementary nature of the parties’ businesses, and benefits patients, providers, payers and care teams,” Option said in a press release of its own on Monday. “Our compelling all-stock transaction, expected to close in the second half of 2023, allows stockholders of both companies to participate in the upside of the combined company, which will be a differentiated leader in home health and alternate site care with unmatched scale and a unique cash flow profile.”

According to Option Care Health, the transaction would result in more than $500 million in annual cash flow by 2025; approximately $1 billion in combined adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, or EBITDA, by 2027; more than $9 billion in combined revenue by 2027; approximately $75 million of run rate revenue and cost synergies by 2027; and more than 10% in combined adjusted EBITDA margin.

Amedisys will have to pay Option $106 million if it terminates its agreement with that company, according to Reuters.