UnitedHealth Group Inc. has agreed to pay $8.1 billion in cash and stock for PacifiCare Health Systems Inc.[@@]
UnitedHealth says it hopes to complete the deal by early 2006 and make PacifiCare a subsidiary of its UnitedHealthcare unit.
The deal is subject to approval by shareholders of PacifiCare, Cypress, Calif., and by regulators, including federal antitrust regulators.
The deal agreement calls for PacifiCare shareholders to receive $2.2 billion in cash and a total of about 112 million shares of stock.
UnitedHealth, Minnetonka, Minn., has about 22 million health plan members and large specialty benefits operations.