UnitedHealth Buys Definity Health Corp.

November 29, 2004 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Looking to expand even more into the consumer-driven health arena, UnitedHealth Group Inc. has announced the acquisition of benefits provider Definity Health Corp.

Definity, which is based in Minneapolis and expects 2005 revenues of $100 million, is best known for providing consumer-driven health plans, according to the Associated Press (AP). It provides such plans to almost 100 employers, including 23 of the Fortune 500 companies. Clients include Wells Fargo and the University of Minnesota.

A UnitedHealth spokesman said that Definity’s back-office technological innovations, meant to streamline health-care transactions, made the company especially appealing. The deal is expected to close in December, with the price tag being pinned at $300 million in cash.

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The deal, disclosed Monday, follows a wave of purchases by UnitedHealth. In 2003, the company purchased Golden Rule Financial, a medical savings account company, according to the AP.    The firm also purchased Oxford Health Plans in a $4.9 billion deal last April.

With this acquisition, UnitedHealth ( http://www.unitedhealthgroup.com/ ) projects that in 2005, 2.5 million consumers will be serviced by the company, with 1.3 million using some sort of health care account.

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