FTC requests additional details on UnitedHealth's acquisition of LHC Group

The Federal Trade Commission has issued a second request for information on UnitedHealth Group's $5 billion planned acquisition of home health provider LHC Group.

In a filing issued to the Securities and Exchange Commission late last week, LHC said that both companies had received the request on June 10. The request will push the closure of the deal back to at least 30 days after LHC and UnitedHealth comply substantially with the request.

The FTC could terminate that waiting period earlier, or the companies could extend it, according to the filing.

"The parties have been working cooperatively with the FTC and will continue to do so," LHC wrote.

The deal was first announced at the end of March. The delay due to the FTC investigation is the second hurdle that this merger has encountered. In May, an LHC shareholder filed suit against the company, claiming investors were misled about its finances prior to the merger.

In the suit, a shareholder argues that key information, such as details leading up to the sale, was excluded from an SEC filing that encouraged shareholders to back the deal.

The LHC deal isn't the only UnitedHealth acquisition that's facing trouble. The company is gearing up to defend its purchase of Change Healthcare in court in August, following a legal challenge from the Department of Justice on antitrust grounds.