Walgreens’s VillageMD Nears $9B Summit Health Deal

Walgreens-owned VillageMD is getting close to a $9 billion deal to merge with Summit Health, part of an ongoing trend of consumer health brands moving into primary care.

As The Wall Street Journal reported, an agreement in the deal could arrive as soon as Monday (Nov. 7), according to sources familiar with the matter. The merger could involve combining Village with Summit Health, which owns CityMD, an urgent care provider.

Sources say the health insurer Cigna is expected to invest in the merged entity, but cautioned there’s no guarantee the two sides will come to an agreement. Representatives from Summit Health and VillageMD were not immediately available for comment.

Related: US: Walgreens just slashed its Rite Aid offer by $2 billion

Walgreens invested $5.2 billion in VillageMD last year, giving it a 63% stake in the company.

As PYMNTS noted when reports of the merger first surfaced last week, this deal is happening at a moment when Walgreens and its competitors are expanding on their healthcare offerings.

October saw the news that CVS was considering purchasing primary healthcare provider Cano Health. The company also recently finalized an $8 billion deal to acquire Signify Health, which employs analytics and technology to offer in-home care for health plans, employers, physician groups and health systems.

Walgreens, meanwhile, is looking to simplify its operations under three business units as part of its transformation into a “consumer-centric healthcare” company.

With prescriptions down alongside a retreat in COVID-19 vaccines and related care, Walgreens — like all of its major peers — is making a shift to deliver a range of treatments and services to customers that go well beyond dispensing medicine.

“We are rapidly scaling U.S. healthcare and are already raising long-term sales targets with a clear path to achieve profitability starting in fiscal year ’24,” CEO Rosalind Brewer said during a recent earnings webcast. “It’s early, but our strategy is working, and we’re making good progress on each of our four priorities, which are simplifying and strengthening the company.”