XM does not provide services to residents of the United States of America.

UnitedHealth takeover of EMIS referred for UK in-depth antitrust probe



<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><title>CORRECTED-UPDATE 1-UnitedHealth takeover of EMIS referred for UK in-depth antitrust probe</title></head><body>

Corrects to read June (not July), paragraph 7

March 31 (Reuters) -Britain's competition watchdog saidon Friday it would refer UnitedHealth Group's UNH.N 1.24 billion pound ($1.54 billion) acquisition of healthcare technology firm EMIS EMISG.L for a Phase 2 investigation.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said it had rejected a remedy offeredby U.S.-based UnitedHealth after deeming it didnot go far enough in mitigating the potential competitive impact of the combination.

The proposed remedy was a divestiture of the domestic Medicines Optimisation and Population Health Management businesses of Optum UK, part of UnitedHealth.

EMIS said the merging parties disagreed with the decision and were weighing their next steps.

"(We) are disappointed with the CMA's decision and continue to believe that the proposed remedy directly addresses the competition concerns raised by the CMA following its Phase 1 investigation," the company said.

"Optum UK and EMIS are currently considering their options and will provide a further update with regards to the acquisition in due course."

UnitedHealth unveiled an offer to acquire EMIS in June, in a move aimed at positioning the combined entity to provide better services to Britain's National Health Service (NHS).

The CMA launched its initial merger enquiry in January and warned the parties earlier in March that it would subject the deal to further scrutiny if they failed to offer acceptable remedies.

($1 = 0.8073 pounds)



Reporting by Pablo Mayo Cerqueiro; editing by Jason Neely

</body></html>

Disclaimer: The XM Group entities provide execution-only service and access to our Online Trading Facility, permitting a person to view and/or use the content available on or via the website, is not intended to change or expand on this, nor does it change or expand on this. Such access and use are always subject to: (i) Terms and Conditions; (ii) Risk Warnings; and (iii) Full Disclaimer. Such content is therefore provided as no more than general information. Particularly, please be aware that the contents of our Online Trading Facility are neither a solicitation, nor an offer to enter any transactions on the financial markets. Trading on any financial market involves a significant level of risk to your capital.

All material published on our Online Trading Facility is intended for educational/informational purposes only, and does not contain – nor should it be considered as containing – financial, investment tax or trading advice and recommendations; or a record of our trading prices; or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instruments; or unsolicited financial promotions to you.

Any third-party content, as well as content prepared by XM, such as: opinions, news, research, analyses, prices and other information or links to third-party sites contained on this website are provided on an “as-is” basis, as general market commentary, and do not constitute investment advice. To the extent that any content is construed as investment research, you must note and accept that the content was not intended to and has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such, it would be considered as marketing communication under the relevant laws and regulations. Please ensure that you have read and understood our Notification on Non-Independent Investment. Research and Risk Warning concerning the foregoing information, which can be accessed here.

Risk Warning: Your capital is at risk. Leveraged products may not be suitable for everyone. Please consider our Risk Disclosure.