U.S. insurance giant UnitedHealth Group said Monday it will pay $4.9 billion to acquire control of one of Brazil’s largest health care providers, Amil Participações, in an effort to expand into a market with a largely untapped customer base.
The transaction’s terms call for Minnetonka, Minnesota–based UnitedHealth to pay cash to acquire its 90 percent stake in Amil, while the Brazilian company’s current majority owners—founder Edson Bueno and his partner, Dulce Pugliese—will retain the remaining 10 percent stake for at least five years. Bueno has also agreed to buy roughly $470 million in UnitedHealth shares, which he will hold for the same five-year period. In its announcement of the deal, UnitedHealth added that it expects to reap an estimated $600 million in Brazilian tax benefits as a result of the acquisition.
