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 or called off during the month of October.
Providers
LifePoint Health and Kindred Healthcare unveiled an update to their June merger in the form of a new 79-hospital company. Called ScionHealth, the entity will spread across 25 states and include 61 of Kindred’s long-term acute care hospitals alongside 18 of LifePoint’s community hospitals. Meanwhile, the remainder of LifePoint’s operations will be joined by Kindred’s inpatient rehabilitation facilities, acute rehabilitation facilities and behavioral health facilities, all under the LifePoint name.
Jefferson Health and Einstein Healthcare Network have finalized the merger that prompted a lengthy legal battle with the Federal Trade Commission. The deal brings Jefferson Health to a total of 18 hospitals and brings the nonprofit system new access to a large midwifery program as well as transplant programs and trauma centers.
Amita Health, the 2015 joint system between Ascension and AdventHealth, is being split up. The systems said that the decision was mutual but did not give a timeline for when the Chicago-area provider would be broken apart. AdventHealth is set to retain four of Amita’s hospitals while Ascension would control the remaining 15.
DaVita’s Utah expansion was stymied by the Federal Trade Commission, which ordered the kidney care giant to divest itself of three dialysis clinics alongside other new restrictions including a 10-year requirement to seek prior approval for any future acquisitions within the state. DaVita had announced plans to acquire the University of Utah’s dialysis business, which includes 18 dialysis clinics within the state, last month.
Oak Street Health has picked up virtual specialty care provider RubiconMD for $130 million. The purchase allows the value-based primary care network to integrate virtual specialty care into its existing care model, which it said will significantly streamline the referral process and better manage costs while also enhancing the patient experience and providing comprehensive care far beyond traditional primary care.
Carbon Health purchased Alertive Healthcare, a remote patient monitoring company, for an undisclosed sum. Alertive’s turnkey platform uses integrated devices to collect patients’ physiological data and delivers alerts regarding adherence or if the patient’s condition becomes critical. Carbon will be integrating the service into its primary care offerings “over the next several months.”
Payers
Cigna will divest its life, accident and supplemental benefits business in seven countries to insurance company Chubb in a deal valued at $5.75 billion. Those business lines operate in Hong Kong, Indonesia, Korea, New Zealand, Taiwan and Thailand, as well as a joint venture in Turkey. The two companies expect the deal to close in 2022, pending regulatory approvals and closing conditions. Cigna expects to net $5.4 billion after tax for the divestiture.
Molina Healthcare is set to acquire AgeWell New York’s Medicaid Managed Long Term Care business in a deal priced at roughly $110 million. Molina said that it’s intending to fund the purchase using cash on hand and that it expects the new acquisition to drive immediate gains in adjusted earnings per share.
Tech
Headspace and Ginger have closed their merger, creating a $3 billion mental health company with a combined reach of 100 million consumers. Headspace will bring its meditation and mindfulness offerings to the table while Ginger will contribute its teletherapy services.
TransUnion plans to sell its healthcare data and analytics business to nThrive and its financial backer Clearlake Capital Group for $1.74 billion in cash. The credit reporting agency’s deal is expected to bring in $1.4 billion in after-tax proceeds and is aiming to close in the fourth quarter. TransUnion Healthcare’s revenue cycle management suite helps hospitals and health systems increase revenue, reduce cost and ensure regulatory compliance. By selling off the business, TransUnion said it will be able to focus on its core businesses of credit, marketing and fraud mitigation solutions.
Intelerad Medical Systems said it will be purchasing cloud-based medical imaging company Ambra Health. The radiology companies did not disclose financial details of their deal but said the new entity would be valued at $1.7 billion.
Babylon Health entered the public markets via a special purpose acquisition company merger, adding roughly $460 million to its coffers prior to transaction expenses. The U.K. company’s CEO said that the money would fuel its continued growth as it scales up in the U.S. market.
23andMe is diving into telehealth and prescription drug delivery with its $400 million purchase of Lemonaid Health. A quarter of the price tag will be paid in cash, with the remainder coming as shares of the genomics company. The deal is expected to close by the end of the year.
Virgin Pulse, the employer wellness arm of Richard Branson’s company Virgin Group, said it would acquire patient engagement company Welltok for an undisclosed amount before the end of October. The deal will expand its communication capabilities and accelerate its ability to serve substantially more customers and patients across the full healthcare continuum — employers, health systems, health plans and pharmacies/pharmacy benefit managers.
Best Buy said it expects to close on remote care management platform Current Health by the end of the fiscal year. Terms were not disclosed. The retailer said that the purchase of Current’s connected health devices, telehealth and patient engagement offering will expand its presence in healthcare and support its in-home health ambitions.
Everly Health, the parent company of health-testing kit brand Everlywell, is purchasing women’s health company Natalist. The companies did not disclose the terms of the all-cash deal, which is expected to expand the at-home reach of Everlywell into women’s health and retail products.
SonderMind has acquired machine learning company Qntfy, adding its mental health predictive analytics to the in-person and virtual therapy matching platform. With this deal, the mental health unicorn will be able to personalize its offerings for behavioral health patients.
Sword Health, a virtual MSK provider, acquired Vigilant Technologies (VIT), a workplace injury prevention company. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, with Sword saying that the purchase will fuel its commercial growth in the injury prevention space.