Amazon reportedly among leading bidders to acquire health-tech company Signify Health

Amazon.com Inc. is reportedly among the leading bidders to acquire health technology company Signify Health Inc., the Wall Street Journal reports.

Founded in 2009, Signify Health offers a healthcare platform that leverages advanced analytics, technology and nationwide healthcare provider networks to deliver value-based payment programs. The company’s mission is “to transform how care is paid for and delivered so that people can enjoy more healthy, happy days at home.”

Signify’s solutions align financial incentives around outcomes, providing technology solutions to health plans and healthcare organizations that are designed to assess and manage risk and identify actionable opportunities for improved patient outcomes, coordination and cost savings. The company pitches its platform as offering a holistic suite of clinical, social and behavioral services to address an individual’s healthcare needs and prevent adverse events that drive excess cost, all while shifting services towards the home.

Amazon is not alone in attempting to buy the company, however, with CVS Health Inc. also having placed a bid. The current bids are said to be around $8 billion – Signify had a market cap of $4.97 billion as of the close of trading on Friday, with final acquisition offers due on Labor Day Sept. 5.

The attempt by Amazon to acquire Signify is not the e-commerce giant’s first foray into the healthcare market, with Amazon having acquired primary healthcare provider One Medical for $3.9 billion last month. That deal, however, had its origins before the ascent of Andy Jassy to the position of chief executive officer of Amazon in July 2021. According to the Journal, the Signify deal would be the first major Amazon acquisition under Jassy’s tenure.

Before taking over from Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, Jassy had previously served as the head of Amazon Web Services Inc. In a letter to Amazon shareholders in April, Jasy noted that one of the business concepts that guide Amazon’s strategy was “iterative innovation.” Jassy explained that the iterative innovation concept applied to various parts of Amazon’s business, including the ability to provide one-day shipping through its Prime program.

Jassy has been a frequent guest on theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media Inc.’s livestreaming media studio over the years and an expansion into healthcare has been mentioned previously. As noted by Dave Vellanteco-host of theCUBE in February 2021, “Amazon getting into groceries or healthcare or financial services and the IoT opportunity, they can bring in the cloud, data and AI and go attack these new industries.”

Image: Signify Health