[Asia Economy Reporter Byunghee Park] Amazon is expanding its healthcare business by acquiring the medical service provider One Medical.
Major foreign media reported on the 21st (local time) that Amazon has agreed to acquire One Medical for $3.9 billion (approximately 5.1285 trillion KRW).
Amazon plans to pay the entire $3.9 billion in cash. The acquisition price per share of One Medical was set at $18, which is 75% higher than the closing price on the 20th. On the 21st, One Medical’s stock price surged 69% in trading.
With the acquisition of One Medical, Amazon will expand its healthcare business from online pharmacy services to telemedicine services. This lays the foundation for Amazon to become a leading company in the healthcare industry. One Medical provides a service where customers pay a monthly fee to receive medical consultations.
Nile Lindsay, Senior Vice President of Healthcare Services at Amazon, said, "We believe healthcare is a field that needs to be newly transformed," adding, "Amazon wants to be a company that helps dramatically improve the healthcare service experience in the future."
One Medical went public in early 2020, and its stock price surged during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, doubts about its post-pandemic business have caused the current stock price to fall below the initial public offering price. Hedge fund Tiger Global and private equity firm Carlyle Group are major shareholders of One Medical.
Attention is focused on how the Biden administration, which has been checking the monopolistic market dominance of big tech companies like Amazon and Google, will view this acquisition.
Amazon started its online pharmacy business in 2020, offering prescription drugs at discounted prices, and immediately expanded its healthcare business by acquiring PillPack, a service that delivers prescription drugs by mail, for about $1 billion. At that time, PillPack’s stock price plummeted due to Amazon’s entry into the online pharmacy market.
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