Best Buy Agrees to Acquire Current Health as it Expands Into Healthcare
By Kathi on Oct 15, 2021 | 04:35 AM IST
Best Buy is
looking to enter the healthcare strategy ecosystem after agreeing to acquire
UK-based Current Health.
Leading retailer Best Buy has announced earlier today that
it has agreed to acquire U.K. tech company Current Health. The financial terms
of the deal are yet to be disclosed, but Best Buy is now looking to become a
major player in the health sector.
By acquiring Current Health, Best Buy will enter the
healthcare strategy ecosystem and provide services such as remote patient
monitoring and telehealth. The retailer said it intends to close the deal by
the end of its current fiscal year.
This latest development doesn’t come as a surprise as CEO
Corie Barry has on numerous occasions described the healthcare sector as a
growth opportunity. She has highlighted numerous trends in the sector that she
believes would work in the retailer’s favor.
Current Health CEO Christopher McCann stated that he is
excited that the company has been acquired by Best Buy. Best Buy’s reach with
stores and its trust with customers will ensure Current Health’s products will
reach more people. “Over the coming decade, significantly more healthcare can
be delivered in the home,” the CEO added.
Deborah Di Sanzo, president of Best Buy Health, pointed out
that Current Health has unique expertise in helping its customers’ leverage
technology to work for them from anywhere. “The future of consumer technology
is directly connected to the future of healthcare,” Di Sanzo added.
Current Health’s technology makes it possible for
healthcare organizations to easily monitor their patients while at home. It
leverages data from biosensors like wearable devices to give the medical
personnel insights into a patient’s medical condition and to flag if immediate
attention is required.
BBY is currently up by 0.5% following the earlier
announcement. The stock is trading at $109.22 per share and is up by 11.5%
since the start of the year.