Why DaVita Inc. Jumped Higher Today

DaVita (NYSE: DVA) is up 12.8% at 12:35 p.m. EST after announcing that it's selling its medical group to UnitedHealth Group's (NYSE: UNH) health services business Optum for $4.9 billion. UnitedHealth's investors ho-hummed the deal with shares trading basically flat today.

The sale of DaVita's medical group, which has 300 medical clinics, 35 urgent-care centers, and six outpatient surgery centers, shouldn't be much of a surprise since management said the company was exploring selling the unit that produced an operating loss of $5 million in the most recent quarter.

Health insurer UnitedHealth shouldn't be much of a surprise as the buyer either since it's been expanding its healthcare offerings with more direct patient care. Earlier this year, United Health acquired Surgical Care Affiliates for $2.3 billion.

Source: Fool.com