UnitedHealth Group is among the potential buyers of ambulatory surgical center operator Surgery Partners, Bloomberg reported Aug. 23, citing sources close to the matter.
Private equity firm TPG has also expressed interest in acquiring Surgery Partners, sources told Bloomberg. Other private equity firms and strategic bidders may be interested in buying the chain, Bloomberg reported.
Surgery Partners is the third-largest ASC operator in the U.S., with more than 160 surgical facilities and 4,600 affiliated physicians.
Optum, part of UnitedHealth Group, owns SCA Health, the second-largest ASC operator, with 320 facilities. Optum acquired SCA Health for $2.3 billion in 2017.
Negotiations on a potential deal are in the early stages, Bloomberg reported, and are not guaranteed to end in a transaction. Representatives for UnitedHealth and Surgery Partners did not respond to Bloomberg's requests for comment.
Optum is the largest employer of physicians in the U.S., with more than 90,000 physicians employed or affiliated. Recent efforts by UnitedHealth to acquire more providers have faced antitrust hurdles. The company announced plans to acquire home health provider Amedisys in June 2023. The transaction was approved by Amedisys shareholders but is still under review by the Justice Department.
In June, Optum backed out of a deal to purchase Dallas-based Steward Health Care's physician group, Stewardship Health. The Justice Department alleged antitrust scrutiny was the reason UnitedHealth retreated from the deal.
The Justice Department has begun an antitrust investigation into UnitedHealth Group, according to The Wall Street Journal. Investigators are reportedly focused on Optum's physician group acquisitions and the relationship between Optum and UnitedHealthcare, the company's insurance arm.