Democrasales Inc acquires Grogan’s Inc
Democrasales Inc (Philadelphia, PA) acquired Grogan’s Inc (Lexington, KY), a distributor of medical and surgical supplies and equipment. Customers of the combined company will have access to a broader array of products and services together with proprietary sales technology that adds convenience for customers while significantly reducing the combined company’s cost of sales, according to the company. The combined company is led by Gregg Rivkind. Alan Grogan will remain with the company as EVP of the combined business. Paul Kaliner, former CEO and president of Delaware Valley Surgical Supply, will be on the company’s board of directors.
Midmark announces new brand identity
Midmark Corp (Dayton, OH) launched a new corporate brand identity “that captures the company’s commitment to a better care experience and the growing value Midmark offers customers as they focus on improving clinical outcomes.” According to the company, the new brand identity, which includes a new website, logo, tagline, and more, mirrors the transformation of Midmark from an equipment manufacturer into a clinical environmental design company that enables a better care experience for caregivers and patients in medical, dental, and animal health industries.
Amazon to open health
clinics for Seattle employees
Amazon (Seattle, WA) is considering opening primary care clinics for employees at its headquarters in Seattle,two sources familiar with the matter told CNBC. The sources said the tentative plan is to hire a small number of physicians to start a pilot clinic later this year for a select group of employees, and to expand access in early 2019. Amazon was previously looking to outsource the clinics and brought in vendors to pitch their services. However, one source told CNBC that after numerous discussions, the company decided to develop the clinics internally and began hiring for its health initiatives last year. It is unclear if Amazon will make the health clinics available to its thousands of warehouse employees, who have separate health needs from its engineering and sales staff.
Best Buy to move into health space with $800M acquisition of GreatCall Inc
Best Buy has agreed to acquire GreatCall Inc (San Francisco, CA) for $800 million. The deal will expand Best Buy’s reach in the health space. Founded in 2006, Great Call makes Jitterbug mobile phones and Lively wearable devices that provide easy, one-touch access to U.S.-based agents who can connect the user to family caregivers, provide concierge services or dispatch emergency personnel Moving forward, GreatCall will continue to operate separately, with CEO David Inns staying on in his role. The company’s headquarters will remain in San Diego and its caring centers will remain at their current locations in Carlsbad, California, and Reno, Nevada. This is the largest acquisition in Best Buy’s history. Best Buy’s acquisition of GreatCall is subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions. It’s expected to close by the end of Best Buy’s fiscal 2019 third quarter.