TPG in talks to buy UnitedHealth’s Optum UK unit, Sky News reports

Jan 6 (Reuters) – U.S. private equity firm TPG is close to acquiring UnitedHealth’s Optum UK business, in a deal worth between 1.2 billion pounds ($1.62 billion) and 1.4 billion pounds, Sky News reported on Tuesday.

The deal could be announced in the coming weeks but has not yet been finalised and could still fall apart, the report said, citing people familiar with the matter.

Optum’s UK business supplies electronic patient record systems to most of Britain’s general practitioners.

TPG could seek to combine Optum UK with Nextech, a U.S.-based electronic medical record software provider also owned by the PE firm, the report said.

UnitedHealth, Optum and TPG did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.

Bank of America is advising on the latest sale process, which also drew interest from other buyout firms, including Blackstone, Sky reported.

The UK unit had last changed hands about two years ago, when UnitedHealth’s Optum acquired EMIS – a major supplier of GP software – in a 1.24 billion pound deal that was cleared by the UK competition regulator in 2023 after an in-depth Phase 2 probe.

($1 = 0.7401 pounds)

(Reporting by Siddhi Mahatole in Bengaluru; Editing by Leroy Leo)