CVS Health (NYSE: CVS) has landed its home health company.
The Woonsocket, Rhode Island-based CVS announced Monday that it has entered into a definitive agreement to purchase Signify Health (NYSE: SGFY) for “a total transaction value of approximately $8 billion.” The health care giant’s interest in Signify had been widely reported leading up to the deal.
Strategically, CVS believes that buying the home health business Signify will advance its long-term strategy by providing a platform for growth in value-based care, according to President and CEO Karen S. Lynch.
“This acquisition will enhance our connection to consumers in the home and enables providers to better address patient needs as we execute our vision to redefine the health care experience,” Lynch said in a press release announcing the news. “In addition, this combination will strengthen our ability to expand and develop new product offerings in a multi-[payer] approach.”
The two companies anticipate the transaction – already approved by each party’s respective board of directors – to close in the first half of 2023. Specifically, CVS Health is acquiring Dallas-based Signify Health’s stock for $30.50 per share.
The roughly $8 billion price tag further illustrates just how valuable home-based care businesses have become in recent years. That jaw-dropping total even eclipses the approximately $5.4 billion that UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH) is paying for home health and hospice powerhouse LHC Group (Nasdaq: LHCG).
Signify Health’s model is built around health risk assessments, value-based care and provider enablement. Its business includes more than 10,000 clinicians across all 50 states and a nationwide value-based provider network, which Signify pairs with proprietary analytics and technology.
Its value-based care focus, in particular, has been accelerated ever since Signify bought Caravan Health in March 2022. Currently, Caravan partners with over 170 providers participating in accountable care organizations (ACOs) that serve the Medicare population.
“Signify Health’s mission is to build trusted relationships to make people healthier by using actionable intelligence to understand what’s really impacting outcomes and cost today,” Kyle Armbrester, CEO of Signify Health, said in the release. “As we carefully considered our long-term strategic options, we determined that CVS Health is the ideal partner, given its focus on expanding access to health services and helping consumers navigate to the best sites of care.”
While CVS came out on top in the bidding for Signify, other rumored suitors reportedly included UnitedHealth Group, Option Care Health and Amazon (Nasdaq: AMZN), which recently announced its own agreement to buy primary care company One Medical for $3.9 billion.
News about Signify’s interest in a sale first surfaced in early August. The home health organization executed its IPO in early 2021.
Following the close of the transaction, Armbrester will continue to lead Signify Health as part of CVS Health.
“We formed Signify Health and recruited Kyle and the team to build a strategic innovation platform focused on leveraging technology as a catalyst for connecting key health care stakeholders to drive better patient outcomes,” Matt Holt, chairman of Signify’s board, said in the release. “Together with CVS Health, Signify is uniquely positioned to continue to lead the transformation to value-based care. We look forward to the significant impact this transaction will make on health care for years to come.”
Holt is also the president of private equity and managing director at New Mountain Capital, which owns a majority stake in Signify Health.
CVS Health expects to fund the transaction with existing cash from its balance sheet, along with “available resources.”
“This is a major step as we continue to execute on our strategy,” CVS Health Executive Vice President and CFO Shawn Guertin said in the release. “We expect the acquisition to be meaningfully accretive to earnings and, as a result, are increasingly confident we can achieve our long-term adjusted EPS goals as outlined at our Investor Day in December 2021.”
CVS Health and Signify Health will hold a joint conference call on Tuesday morning. The former had previously been a customer of the latter’s for several years.
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