The Justice Department and two states appealed a federal judge’s decision to toss a challenge to UnitedHealth Group’s $13 billion merger with technology company Change Healthcare, according to a court notice filed Friday.
The companies closed the $7.8 billion merger after a federal judge in Washington ruled against the Department of Justice in a lawsuit to block the deal on the grounds that it would reduce competition.
Read more: UnitedHealth, Change Healthcare Complete $13B Merger
The UnitedHealth case was one of a trio of losses by DOJ’s antitrust prosecutors, who filed an unprecedented 10 merger challenges this year.
The US, along with the states of New York and Minnesota, appealed to the U.S. State Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, according to a court filing.
A judge in September denied the US Dept. of Justice’s request to block Change Healthcare sale to UnitedHealth (UNH). The DOJ sued to block the transaction in late February on antitrust grounds.
