Aetna announced an agreement Monday to spend $400 million acquiring bswift, a Chicago technology company that offers a retail style platform for health insurance.
The acquisition is expected to close before the end of the year. It will be funded with resources Aetna has on hand.
The company works on public, private and broker exchanges. Bswift’s platform includes assistance features for buyers, including an “Ask Emma” interactive support tool.
“Bswift’s consumer-friendly technology for benefits shopping and administration is an excellent fit with our proprietary exchange strategy,” Aetna Chairman and CEO Mark T. Bertolini said in a statement.
“With more employers giving employees their choice of benefits via private exchanges, bswift’s technology platform will provide Aetna with the capability to deliver a new private-exchange offering for employers of all sizes where the focus is on helping people easily choose a plan that’s right for them and their families.”
Bswift’s technology will help simplify the consumer’s experience shopping for health insurance, Dijuana Lewis, Aetna’s executive vice president for Consumer Products and Enterprise Marketing, said in a statement.
“This acquisition will help Aetna advance our consumer vision to transform the health benefits industry to a retail model that is consumer-centric, affordable and convenient,” Lewis said in a statement.
Bswift CEO Rich Gallun said Aetna will help expand the company’s reach.
Bswift, which has 380 employees, is owned by its employees and various investors, including the private equity firm Great Hill Partners.
The acquisition is expected to be neutral to Aetna’s operating earnings per share this year and next year.
Date: November 03, 2014