Healthcare mergers and acquisitions are in no short supply as providers, health tech companies, payers and other industry players look to expand their businesses and gain a competitive edge. Here’s a roundup of new deals that were revealed, closed, rumored or called off during the month of July.
Providers
SSM Health has acquired SLUCare Physician Group, the academic medical practice of Saint Louis University that has delivered medical services across several of the system’s hospitals for decades. The system did not disclose terms for its deal, which will establish SLUCare’s 600-plus faculty, academic medical professionals and staff as a dedicated academic physician division within the eight-hospital SSM Health St. Louis network.
Orlando Health unveiled plans to acquire Medical Center Radiology Group (MCRG) effective Oct. 1. The latter’s radiologists have interpreted imaging for Orlando Health for decades but will now come under the nonprofit health system’s roof as employees. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Keck Medicine finalized a deal to bring the Methodist Hospital of Southern California into the fold on July 1. The facility is being rebranded to USC Arcadia Hospital and as part of the affiliation agreement will see equipment, infrastructure and services investments from Keck Medicine.
Community Health Systems told investors in a quarterly filing that it has sold off the 32-bed AllianceHealth Seminole to SSM Health Oklahoma. Net proceeds of the sale were received at a preliminary closing on June 30.
WellNow Urgent Care, part of The Aspen Group, acquired Physicians Immediate Care for an undisclosed sum. The deal brings the combined urgent care company to more than 180 centers across six states with nearly 4,000 employees.
Payers
Cigna has closed the divestiture of its life, accident and supplemental benefits business in Asia to Chubb in a deal valued at $5.4 billion. The divestiture covers assets across six markets in the Asia-Pacific region, Cigna said late last week, in Hong Kong, Indonesia, Korea, New Zealand, Taiwan and Thailand. Cigna's joint venture in Turkey is excluded from the transaction.
Centene completed the divestiture of PANTHERx, one of its pharmacy subsidiaries, to Vistria Group, General Atlantic and Nautic Partners. The government insurance giant said it plans to use the majority of the proceeds to repurchase stock and then apply the balance to pay down debt. Centene did not give a price tag for PANTHERx, but previously said that its sale and that of Magellan Rx together were expected to bring in $2.8 billion.
Centene also announced a deal to sell its Spanish and Central European businesses to Vivalto Santé for an undisclosed sum. The sale is expected to close by the end of the year, after which the payer plans to use most of the net proceeds to repurchase stock and the balance to reduce debt.
Molina Healthcare will acquire My Choice Wisconsin, a Medicaid plan, for about $150 million. The Medicaid managed care organization has offered services in the state for 22 years and, as of May, covered 44,000 Medicaid and managed long-term services members.
Nomi Health has purchased sister companies Everyone Health and Sano Surgery for $26.5 million. The direct healthcare purchasing and delivery business said the acquisitions with expand the breadth of its national provider network as well as grow its collection of healthcare buyer contracts.
Tech
Amazon announced plans to buy tech-enabled primary care chain One Medical for $18 per share in an all-cash transaction valued at roughly $3.9 billion including the company’s net debt. One Medical has 188 clinic offices across 29 markets and 767,000 members but had yet to become profitable since going public in 2020. Amazon said the deal is part of its goal to “reinvent” healthcare and highlighted how combining One Medical’s platform with its tech and logistics could help streamline the care experience.
Francisco Partners celebrated the close of its IBM Watson Health assets acquisition by announcing the launch of a rebranded standalone data analytics company. Now known as Merative, the business aims to offer its health data services to clients ranging from providers, health plans and employers to life sciences firms, imaging companies and government entities. The now-closed deal was first announced in January and, although terms were not disclosed, was announced after reports said IBM had been shopping the business unit in the $1 billion range.
Exo, maker of a point-of-care ultrasound device, announced plans to purchase artificial intelligence company Medo. Exo said it plans to integrate Medo’s proprietary software into its platform to make ultrasound imaging more accessible to caregiver users. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Clearwater, a healthcare cybersecurity, risk management and HIPAA compliance company, acquired security firm TECH LOCK for an undisclosed sum. The company was operating as a subsidiary of patient engagement and payment solutions company RevSpring. It will continue to act as a subsidiary under Clearwater and to serve healthcare and other customers.
Medical Solutions, a healthcare worker placing company, picked up healthcare staffing platform Matchwell for an undisclosed sum. The purchase is expected to flesh out Medical Solutions’ presence into per diem and local markets.
RLDatix, a healthcare governance, risk and compliance solutions firm, acquired health IT implementation, optimization, data migration and archival solutions company Galen Healthcare Solutions. RLDatix said the purchase will help its customer organizations meet regulatory requirements and ensure patients’ continuity of care. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Miscellaneous
Healthcare Realty Trust picked up shareholder approval for its proposed merger with fellow medical real estate company Healthcare Trust of America. About four in five of the company’s outstanding shares representing 92% of votes cast supported the decision. The companies had announced in February their plans to create a new entity valued at more than $10 billion.