CVS is buying home-healthcare company Signify Health for $8 billion in major healthcare tie-up

"We can't be in primary care without M&A. We've been very clear about that," CVS CEO Karen Lynch told analysts last month. Shannon Stapleton/File Photo/Reuters

• CVS said Monday that it is acquiring home-healthcare company Signify Health for $8 billion. 
• The drugstore giant previously said it would expand its healthcare services by the end of 2022.
• Firms have made a flurry of healthcare deals; Amazon is buying One Medical for $3.9 billion. 

Drugstore giant CVS said on Monday that it is buying Dallas, Texas-based home-healthcare company Signify Health in a deal worth $8 billion, a move that underlines fierce competition among technology and healthcare giants alike to push more aggressively into medical services.

Signify Health works with a network of some 10,000 doctors across the US and enables house calls to patients. The company expects to make nearly 2.5 million in-person and virtual patient home visits in 2022, according to a presentation to investors on CVS's website. 

Amazon and UnitedHealthcare were also both circling Signify Health, The Wall Street Journal reported last month. In July, Amazon said it would buy primary care startup One Medical for $3.9 billion. 

Rhode Island-headquartered CVS has told investors that it wants to push further into healthcare for customers.

Chief Executive Officer Karen Lynch told analysts on the second-quarter earnings call last month that she expected to improve the company's health services in primary care, provider enablement, and home health. 

"We can't be in the primary care without M&A. We've been very clear about that," Lynch said, referring to mergers and acquisitions, adding that "we are very encouraged and confident that we'll take the next step on this journey by the end of this year." 

The company was "very active in evaluating a wide range of assets in and around the care delivery space," CVS Chief Financial Officer Shawn Guertin added, according to a transcript from research provider Sentieo. 

CVS said on Monday that the deal is expected to close in the first half of 2023 and that Signify Health CEO Kyle Armbrester will continue to lead the company under the CVS Health banner. Signify Health went public in February 2021 at $24 per share, and by the end of 2021 its stock price had fallen to about $14.