The Justice Department has withdrawn its appeal to block UnitedHealth Group's $7.8 billion acquisition of Change Healthcare, Reuters reported March 21.
This comes after the Justice Department sued to halt the deal earlier this year, calling it anticompetitive because Change Healthcare, which would be merged with UnitedHealth Group's data and consulting business OptumInsight, has access to data from insurer customers.
UnitedHealth Group argued that Optum is separate from its insurance arm, UnitedHealthcare, and the deal should continue as there are policies in place to protect sensitive data.
The Justice Department did not respond to Reuters about why it dropped its appeal.
Following the dismissal, UnitedHealth Group's shares went up 0.2 percent to $478.09, according to the report.