Amazon to buy One Medical in $3.5 bn cash deal

Amazon.com Inc on Thursday said it would buy primary healthcare provider One Medical for $3.49 billion in an all-cash transaction, sending shares of the online retailer up about 1 per cent in premarket trading.

The deal heralds a dramatic expansion of Amazon’s push into healthcare, having piloted virtual care visits for Amazon employees in Seattle in 2019 before offering such services to other employers and in other cities under the Amazon Care brand.

“We think healthcare is high on the list of experiences that need reinvention,” said Neil Lindsay, senior vice president of Amazon Health Services.

The e-commerce giant agreed to pay $18 for each share of One Medical, representing a premium of 76.8 per cent relative to the healthcare firm’s closing price on Wednesday.