MINNETONKA, Minn. (Bloomberg)—UnitedHealth Group Inc. is nearing an agreement to buy Executive Health Resources Inc., a medical services firm backed by Abry Partners L.L.C., for about $1.5 billion, said three people with knowledge of the talks.

UnitedHealth would add the Newtown Square, Pa.-based company to its Ingenix database management and consulting unit, said the people, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the talks are private.

It may be an all-cash transaction, one of the people said. An agreement could be days away and may still fall apart, the people said.

Tyler Mason, a UnitedHealth spokesman, declined to comment. Michelle Bowman, of Executive Health, and Hilary Grove, a partner at Abry, didn’t immediately respond to phone messages.

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