Amazon’s $3.9 Billion Acquisition of One Medical Completed, Despite FTC Investigation

While Amazon can complete the deal without the immediate threat of an antitrust lawsuit from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), regulators will continue investigating potential competitive and consumer harms of the transaction. The FTC has said it will continue to examine possible harms to competition and consumers created by the merger, as well as possible issues that could arise from Amazon’s control of sensitive consumer health information held by One Medical. The FTC plans to warn Amazon that it may close the deal at its own risk, highlighting the continued legal risk for the company and the concerns driving the FTC probe.

The worries include the possibility of Amazon entrenching its economic dominance and concerns over the misuse of acquired health data for targeted advertising or e-commerce purposes. The acquisition follows Amazon’s purchase of PillPack in 2018 and the closure of its Haven initiative with JPMorgan Chase and Berkshire Hathaway in 2021, which aimed to provide better healthcare services and insurance at lower cost.