Following months of investigating, the European Commission earlier this year gave Siemens Healthineers the nod to proceed with its $16.4 billion acquisition of Varian Medical Systems. The deal was announced in August 2020 and completed in April this year, and marked Siemens’ return to the radiotherapy market after a decade-long absence.

The Commission launched its investigation out of concern that the deal would cause competitors, the European Economic Area and the U.K., to foreclose on their supply of medical imaging solutions, especially CT, MR and PET scanners. It also feared foreclosures on supplies of radiotherapy solutions for treatment such as linear accelerators, brachytherapy devices and proton therapy equipment, oncology software for treatment planning and oncology information systems, and motion management devices.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Justice Department launched and then extended an investigation in March into the proposed Change Healthcare – UnitedHealth merger for nearly $8 billion. The addition of Change Healthcare is expected to allow Optum, Change’s subsidiary, access to data analytics and technologies that will enhance workflow and simplify transactions across healthcare systems. Critics say it threatens to harm competition and would enable a larger and more powerful Optum to enhance UHG’s incentives to favor its dominant health insurer, UnitedHealthcare, to the disadvantage of rivals.

Change and UnitedHealth in August struck a deal with the Justice Department to attempt to save the deal. They agreed to comply with a request for information for further review of the deal and not to complete the merger for 120 days. The investigation is ongoing.

Neither Nuance nor Microsoft has issued a statement on the EU’s antitrust probe. Microsoft declined to comment to Reuters, and Nuance did not respond to its request for comment.

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