Who’ll get the final rose?... There's a “Bachelor”-style scenario playing out in the healthcare world. Big-name suitors are vying to merge with Signify Health, a techy platform for home-health services that helps providers manage payments for in-home care. According to the WSJ sources:
- Amazon’s bidding for Signify in an auction that could value it at $8B+. Signify stock spiked 32% yesterday on news of the prime suitor. CVS and UnitedHealth are also courting.
- Season finale: Offers are due around Labor Day, but an eager suitor could seal the deal before then. Of course it's possible no one will win Signify's hand in merger.
A healthy appetite… Big retailers have been investing heavily in expanding healthcare services. They don’t just want to be your go-to for Advil and thermometers — they want to be your go-to for doc appointments and checkups too.
- Last month Amazon agreed to buy swanky clinic chain One Medical for $4B (its third-largest deal ever) in its quest to Prime-ify healthcare.
- This month CVS, which has expanded into healthcare with its HealthHub and MinuteClinic locations, said it plans to buy or invest in a primary-care company this year.
- Walgreens is opening hundreds of doctors' offices in partnership with VillageMD, and plans to have 600 primary-care clinics in the US by 2025 (so far it has 52).
- Walmart has a small but growing number of primary-care clinics.
Healthcare isn’t seasonal… Allergy season comes and goes, and consumers are fickle in their appetite for Prime-delivered air fryers and eye masks. One thing that unfortunately doesn’t come and go: chronic health conditions. Primary care is a reliable revenue and traffic driver, and major retailers can offer a convenience that traditional providers can’t.