Amazon to acquire primary care company One Medical for $3.9B
Is this part of a future consolidation strategy?
On July 21, Amazon announced it has agreed to purchase One Medical for $18 per share in an all-cash transaction (a $3.9 billion valuation including net debt). The deal is subject to “closing conditions, including approval by One Medical’s shareholders and regulatory approval”.
Founded in 2007, One Medical is a US-based primary care organization which serves 767,000 members via 182 medical offices in 25 regional markets. It operates under a hybrid model which provides both in-person and telehealth services. The vast majority of members use One Medical via a supplementary health insurance scheme. In early 2020 the company began trading on the Nasdaq.
Towards a product consolidation strategy?
Of course that’s not Amazon’s first healthcare move into the US healthcare sector. In 2018, the Big Tech firm acquired PillPack, a popular online pharmacy. In the last few years, we’ve also witnessed the development of Amazon Care, a telehealth service that incorporates home visits by health workers.
There are synergies among the three entities for sure. It would make sense to combine all into a single brand to: 1/ exploit product/service complementarity, 2/ achieve economies of scale (e.g. schedule an appointment and get your prescription meds at the same time… so to speak).
It’s perhaps a bit premature to jump into conclusions but such strategy wouldn’t be far-fetched.
Update: In late August 2022, Neil Lindsay, Amazon’s senior vice president of health services, told employees in an email that Amazon Care will close at the end of the year.
This story was first published on The PhilaVerse (my Substack newsletter).
