Justice Department OKs WellPoint's $4.9 billion acquisition of Amerigroup

The Justice Department gave the go-ahead to WellPoint's $4.9 billion agreement to buy Amerigroup Corp. as a result of Amerigroup's deal to sell its Virginia subsidiary to Inova Health System Foundation, though a hearing in Washington state is delaying the closing of the WellPoint deal.

Amerigroup, a Virginia Beach, Va.-based managed-care provider for Medicare and Medicaid recipients, expects the Virginia deal to close Friday, while its deal with Indianapolis-based Blues insurer WellPoint can close after hearings are held on the issue by regulators in Washington state, according to an Amerigroup securities filing. “The closing of WellPoint's acquisition of Amerigroup is expected to occur as soon as practicable after the Washington (Office of the Insurance Commissioner's) hearing to consider, and approval of, the proposed acquisition,” with the hearing not yet scheduled, according to the Nov. 26 filing.

The federal Justice Department had been concerned that the WellPoint acquisition as originally proposed would have “substantially lessened” competition in the market for Medicaid managed-care plans in the state, and the sale to Falls Church, Va.-based Inova resolves these concerns, according to a Justice Department news release.