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Andrew Finch, Aidan Synnott and Joshua Soven Discuss DOJ’s Failed Challenge to UnitedHealth-Change Merger in Law360 Expert Analysis Column
October 5, 2022
Litigation partners Andrew Finch, Joshua Soven and Aidan Synnott discuss the legal significance of the U.S. Department of Justice’s failure to prove that the proposed $13 billion merger between UnitedHealth Group and Change Healthcare would substantially lessen competition in an article published in Law360 on October 5. In “Why DOJ's UnitedHealth Merger Loss Is Significant,” the authors review U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols’ denial of the DOJ’s request to enjoin the proposed merger and highlight key takeaways from the ruling, including a legal framework for evaluating transactions where the deal parties themselves propose a remedy for competitive concerns; the suitability of a private equity fund as an acceptable divestiture buyer; and the court’s preference for evidence of the real-world conduct of the parties over the economic theories posited by the government, among other takeaways.