The terms of the deal, which fits into a larger global expansion strategy for Teladoc, were not disclosed.
Teladoc Health has announced another acquisition that will bolster its growing international line of business. The US virtual care company will acquire Paris, France-based MédecinDirect, which provides confidential medical consultations via phone and internet.
The terms of the acquisition were not disclosed, but Teladoc said “the acquisition will be immaterial to Teladoc Health’s financial results.”
“With a continued focus on our global expansion, we will now become the market leader in France with the ability to have an immediate impact on healthcare delivery in the country,” Carlos Nueno, president of Teladoc Health International, said in a statement. “On the successful foundation built by MédecinDirect, we will bring our full suite of virtual care services to multinational clients who have been eager to expand.”
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What’s the impact
The acquisition is expected to close before the end of Q2. MédecinDirect will become the French office of Teladoc, which now operates in the UK, Australia, Canada, Spain, Portugal, Hungary, China, Chile and Brazil in addition to the United States.
What MédecinDirect offers Teladoc Health is a large existing client base that will give the company a comfortable foothold in a new country. Existing MédecinDirect customers will gain access to the full range of Teladoc services.
What’s the trend
Teladoc has made no secret of its aggressive global expansion, and acquisitions have been its preferred tool for achieving that goal.
Last fall, when the company launched its Global Care service, Teladoc Chief Medical Officer Dr. Lew Levy told MobiHealthNews that the service was built on the backbones of Teladoc’s acquisitions of Best Doctors and Advance Medical.
“Historically, Teladoc Health was only available in the US and the types of medical conditions [covered] was somewhat more restrictive than it was today,” he said at the time. “With the acquisition of Best Doctors and Advanced Medical, Teladoc Health is now positioned to tackle far greater degrees of medical complexity, so we are leveraging our global database of physicians to meet people where they are [with] a whole array of services. So, we really see global care being a natural extension of this portfolio.”
According to the company’s fourth quarter earnings call, international business accounted for 205,000 visits and brought in $24.4 million in revenue in the fourth quarter of 2018.
On the record
“We have had great success in the virtual care market, and now together with Teladoc Health we can meet more care needs for more individuals, and ultimately help improve healthcare across the country,” Francois Lescure, CEO and cofounder of MédecinDirect said in a statement. “We share Teladoc Health’s vision for what the healthcare experience should be and look forward to transforming how people access healthcare.”
Date: March 25, 2019
Source: MobiHealthNews
