The Pennant Group (Nasdaq: PNTG) expects integration of its newly acquired assets from Amedisys and UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH) to proceed without a hitch and become accretive in 2026.

The Pennant Group in October closed its acquisition of former Amedisys and UnitedHealth Group hospice and home health locations in Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia.

The deal includes 54 locations for a purchase price of $146.5 million. Most of these care centers are located in Tennessee, a certificate of need state. Approximately two-thirds of the revenue is connected to home health and one-third to hospice, according to Pennant.

“We closed on the UnitedHealth [Group] and Amedisys transaction on October 1, we are excited to add these operations,” Pennant Group CEO Brent Guerisoli said in a Q3 earnings call. “Amedisys created a unique opportunity to add high quality assets in desirable markets at an attractive valuation rarely seen on larger deals with sophisticated operators. As we close the transaction and dive into the businesses, our excitement has only grown.”

The sale had been contingent on the closure of the UnitedHealth Group’s own acquisition of Amedisys, which had been delayed by an investigation and lawsuit by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). On Wednesday, the DOJ filed a Proposed Final Judgment in federal court that stands to resolve the case, clearing the way for the divestiture to Pennant Group, with other locations going to BrightSpring Health Services (Nasdaq: BTSG).

Pennant is the holding company for a broad cluster of independent hospice, home health and senior living providers located across 13 states, a footprint that is set to expand through the Amedisys-UnitedHealth Group deal.

The company’s total revenue for Q3 reached $229 million, up 26.8% from $48.4 million year over year. Home health and hospice services segment revenue for the third quarter was $173.6 million, an increase of $37.9 million or 27.9% over the prior year quarter.

Hospice average daily census for the third quarter was 4,044, an increase of 600 or 17.4% compared to the prior year quarter.

For the Amedisys location integration, The Pennant Group will apply a model they developed for their acquisition of Signature Healthcare’s home healtha and hospice operations last year, which was the largest transaction in the company’s history.

“Our recent Signature transition gives us a model only a year ago. Signature was the largest transaction in our history, completed in two tranches from August 2024 to January 2025 with locations across three states,” Guerisoli said. “The Signature acquisition was similar in many respects to this most recent deal.”

COO John Gochnour indicated in a statement that Pennant will continue to pursue opportunities for growth in the home health, hospice and senior living industries, targeting strategic and underperforming operations of all sizes.

“We are bullish on the long-term potential of these operations and the additional expansion they will enable in the southeastern United States for years to come. Market forces and our own reputation as a quality buyer continue to drive a very robust pipeline of acquisition opportunities in all of our segments,” Gochnaur said in the earnings call. “Our focus is on successfully integrating our recent acquisitions. We will maintain discipline and we will not compromise the priority of those efforts, but remain open to additional hospice and home health opportunities.”