Buying a competitor after acquisition

On the surface, is there an advantage to purchasing stock in a competitor of an acquisition, or was the competitor purchased because it was the better option?

I understand that each situation is unique and complicated, just trying to get insight. Specifically with the LHCG acquisition by UNH. I own LHCG, been averaging down and will see a nice premium, but I am considering a position in AMED, which I see as pretty much a direct competitor with little difference. I also own ADUS, which is in the same space but a little different. I own LHCG and not AMED due to internal issues with workforce at AMED that seem like temporary headwinds. I actually sold my AMED for LHCG a while back.