CVS to Acquire Signify, a Home Health Care Provider, for $8 Billion

The drugstore giant said on Monday that it would acquire Signify Health, which runs a network of doctors making house calls, for $8 billion in a deal that cements the pharmacy chain's move away from its traditional retail roots

If the deal is approved by shareholders and regulators, it will allow the company to reach its customers at home.

As consumers increasingly head online for everyday items that used to draw them into stores, the pharmacy industry is looking for new ways to reach out to their large customer base. Signify will help a network of 10,000 doctors provide in- home health care to 2.5 million patients in the United States. Signify focuses on people who are on Medicare.

Eric Gordon is a professor at the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business. It's going to be a big player because it's convenient for a lot of us.

As it pushes deeper into health care, the store base has been trimmed. A year ago, the retailer said it would close hundreds of stores. The chain's executives told analysts last month that they were looking to add new health services and ways to deliver that service through deals.

Karen S. Lynch said in a statement on Monday that the strategy remained the same. She said that Signing Health will give them a platform to accelerate their growth in value-based care.

Thousands of physicians, nurses, and nurse practitioners, as well as 1,100 MinuteClinic locations, which offer care ranging from vaccinations to physicals, are part of the services offered by the pharmacy giant.

Signify will be paid in cash. The deal is expected to close in the second half of the year.

Kyle Armbrester, the chief executive of Signify, said in a statement on Monday that he was looking forward to executing on their vision for the future of care delivery.