This merger was announced by both companies in July, and complements another Amazon acquisition from 2018, when the company acquired a pharmaceutical company from PillPack at a cost of $750 million. With this new agreement, the company will have access to One Medical’s more than 200 physical medical offices, in 26 markets and approximately 815,000 members.
The purchase is also the first major deal announced since CEO Andy Jassy took over at the company, who has indicated he sees healthcare as a major area of expansion. In a statement, he said healthcare is ripe for disruption, citing long appointment times and the complexities of primary care.
“Customers want and deserve better, and that is what One Medical has been working on and innovating for over a decade,” Jassy said in a statement. “Together, we believe we can make the healthcare experience easier, faster, more personal and more convenient for everyone.”
Amazon said it would discount One Medical memberships for US users to $144 for the first year, regardless of whether or not they are Prime subscribers.
The closing comes after the deadline for the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to challenge the agreement expired. The acquisition had been the subject of a review by the regulator since last September, when it sent Amazon and One Medical a request for more information on the deal, according to CNBC.
While Amazon waited for the period required to close the deal, the FTC could still decide to bring a case to undo the merger at a later time, a right it reserves in any agreement that is reviewed. The FTC, under Chairman Lina Khan, has sent letters to some companies looking to merge saying that while they can’t delay the merger any longer because the deadline has passed, they are still investigating and could take legal action at a later date. Still, breaking up a merger is often more difficult in a practical sense once two companies formally combine.
“The FTC’s investigation into Amazon’s acquisition of One Medical continues,” FTC spokesman Douglas Farrar told CNBC. “The commission will continue to review the potential harms to competition created by this merger, as well as the potential harms to consumers that may result from Amazon’s control and use of sensitive consumer health information held by One Medical.”
The agency is also reviewing Amazon’s $1.65 billion purchase of iRobot.
