Amazon's $3.9B acquisition of 1Life Healthcare will not be blocked by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
The anti-trust regulator will not be able to sue in time to block the deal, clearing the way for Amazon to seize control of the One Medical network of healthcare clinics to continue its expansion into the U.S. healthcare industry.
An FTC spokesperson said that the agency will investigate whether giving Amazon control of personal health information could cause harm to consumers.
- The acquisition, which was announced last July, fits in with a broader trend of consolidation in the healthcare industry.
- If the deal is completed, Amazon would own dozens of One Medical clinics in 20+ U.S. states.
- One of Amazon's goals for the acquisition is to sell healthcare services to employers.
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- FTC Chair Lina Khan has been an outspoken critic of Amazon.
- Prior to her appointment as the head of the FTC, she published an academic paper arguing that the current anti-trust paradigm had failed to prevent Amazon from becoming a monopoly.
- After she was confirmed as FTC chair in 2021, Amazon requested that she be recused from investigations into it, based on her past criticisms of the company.
