Amazon on Wednesday Said It closed its $3.9 billion deal for primary care provider One Medical.
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Amazon agreed to acquire One Medical last July to deepen its presence in health care and “dramatically improve” the experience of receiving medical care. Amazon has long had ambitions to expand into health care, buying online pharmacy PillPack in 2018 for $750 million, then launching its own virtual clinic for chronic conditions, and prescription perks for Prime members.
The deal gives Amazon access to One Medical’s more than 200 brick-and-mortar medical offices and approximately 815,000 members in 26 markets.
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The purchase was the first major deal since CEO Andy Jassy took the helm from founder Jeff Bezos in July 2021, and Jassy has indicated he sees health care as a key area of expansion. In a statement, he said health care is bracing for disruption, citing long appointment times and the complexities of primary care.
“Customers want and deserve better, and that’s what One Medical has been working towards and innovating for more than a decade,” JC said in a statement. “Together, we believe we can make the health care experience easier, faster, more personalized and more convenient for everyone.”
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Amazon said it will discount a Medicare subscription for US users from $199 to $144 for the first year, regardless of whether they are a Prime customer.
The closing occurs after a deadline has passed for the Federal Trade Commission to challenge the deal. The acquisition had been under intense review at the FTC for the past several months. Last September, the agency sent a so-called second request to Amazon and One Medical for more information about the deal. securities filing,
While Amazon waits out the period needed to close the deal, the FTC could still decide to bring a case to nullify the merger at a later point — it reserves the right to review any deal. The FTC, under chairperson Leena Khan, has sent letters to some of the parties seeking the merger, stating that although they can no longer block the merger because the deadline has passed, they are still investigating and will follow up. Can take legal action in due date. Nevertheless, breaking up a merger is often more difficult in a practical sense once the two businesses have formally combined.
“The FTC’s investigation into Amazon’s acquisition of One Medical is ongoing,” said Douglas Farrar, an FTC spokesman. “The Commission will continue to look at the potential harm to competition created by this merger as well as the potential harm to consumers that may result from Amazon’s control and use of sensitive consumer health information held by One Medical.”
An agency official confirmed that the FTC sent a letter to the companies warning them that the parties are closing the deal at their own risk, and that there are still specific concerns about the deal.
Amazon’s $8.5 billion deal for movie studio MGM last March also cleared regulatory hurdles. The company still faces an FTC investigation into its Prime program as well as its online marketplace. The agency is also reviewing the $1.65 billion purchase of Amazon. i robotWhich he announced last year.
Khan is one of Amazon’s biggest critics. She made her first big splash in antitrust circles with her 2017 Yale Law Journal article, “Amazon’s Antitrust ParadoxThe article, which she wrote while still a law student, argued that the popular antitrust framework, focused on consumer welfare, was insufficient to assess digital giants like Amazon.
– CNBC Lauren Fenner And Mary Catherine Wellones
