USA – Amazon is set to acquire the primary care organization One Medical in a deal valued roughly at US$3.9 billion, marking another expansion for the retailer into health care services.
The Seattle-based e-commerce giant said in a statement it will acquire One Medical for US$18 per share in an all-cash transaction.
It marks one of Amazon’s biggest acquisitions, following its US$13.7 billion deal to buy Whole Foods in 2017 and its US$8.5 billion purchase of Hollywood studio MGM, which closed earlier this year.
One Medical, whose parent company is the San-Francisco based 1Life Healthcare, Inc., is a membership-based service that offers patients in-person and virtual doctor visits.
One Medical went public in January 2020 at a price of US$14 a share and was backed by Google and others as a startup.
As of March, this year, it had about 767,00 members and 188 medical offices in 25 markets, according to its first-quarter earnings report, which also showed the company had incurred a net loss of US$90.9 million after pulling in US$254.1 million in revenue representing 75% loss of their value in the past year.
Last year, One Medical acquired Iora Health, another primary care competitor focused on Medicare patients, in a US$2.1 billion deal. The company is pushing more members into at-risk arrangements.
Earlier this month there were reports that One Medical was considering its options after attracting and then rejecting preliminary acquisition interest from CVS Health, according to Fiercepharma.
Neil Lindsay, the senior vice president of Amazon Health Services, said in a statement the acquisition of One Medical is geared towards reinventing the healthcare “experience” for things like booking an appointment and taking trips to the pharmacy.
The deal expands Amazon’s reach into primary care as it also operates Amazon Care, which offers both virtual care services as well as in-home care to employees and other companies.
“We love inventing to make what should be easy easier and we want to be one of the companies that helps dramatically improve the healthcare experience over the next several years,” Lindsay said.
The completion of the transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including approval by One Medical’s shareholders and regulatory approval.
Once the transaction is completed, Amir Dan Rubin will remain as CEO of One Medical, said the company.
The deal expands Amazon’s reach into primary care as it also operates Amazon Care, which offers both virtual care services as well as in-home care to employees and other companies.
Amazon’s latest acquisition furthers the company’s foray into providing health care services. In 2020, the retail giant opened an online drug store that allows customers to order medication or prescription refills, and have them delivered to their doorstep in a couple of days.
This deal may also push retail companies like CVS and Walgreens to ramp up their primary care services.
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