FL-based Guidewell closes purchase of Triple-S insurance provider
Nearly six months after announcing its plans, GuideWell Mutual Holding Corp., parent of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida Inc., has closed on its acquisition of Triple-S Management Corp.
GuideWell acquired all outstanding shares of Triple-S Management common stock for $36 per share in cash.
With the completion of the transaction, Triple-S is now a wholly owned subsidiary of GuideWell and will continue to operate under the Triple-S brand. Triple-S Management’s providers, members and community partners will continue working with the Triple-S Management staff. Combined, the companies now serve more than 46 million people in 45 states and Puerto Rico, where Triple-S has about 1 million subscribers.
The transaction brings together two mission-driven, community-focused companies that will be well equipped to improve health outcomes, affordability, access and equity in both Florida and Puerto Rico.
“With the acquisition of Triple-S, we expect to combine their team’s knowledge and expertise with our own to enhance access, quality, and the affordability of health care for the stakeholders of both companies,” said GuideWell and Florida Blue CEO Pat Geraghty.
“The combination will result in a well-diversified industry leader, strongly positioned to compete effectively, and invest substantially to accelerate our strategies and drive improved health outcomes for the benefit of our diverse populations,” he said.
During a news conference Geraghty confirmed that now that the deal is done, the companies will shift to “putting our combined operational plans together,” over the next 90 to 100 days. That includes looking at ways to provided crossed services to beneficiaries in Puerto Rico and Florida.
“That is high on our list, and it’s something that we certainly are optimistic about, but we will be working on the detail of that as we move forward,” he said, noting that “the combination of communities both in Florida and in Puerto Rico makes a lot of sense, so that’s something we’ll be focused on.”
Among other things, he said while some of the plans may require legal filings, Geraghty did not anticipate problems that would be difficult to overcome.
“I think providers of care in Florida would be open to [this] and so we’ll work through those logistics. There are many interesting opportunities that are going to avail themselves with this combination and we want to make sure we’re talking to all of our partners and that we fully think through the different combinations that may make the most sense to give people the best possible options,” he said.
Meanwhile, Roberto Garcia-Rodriguez, CEO of Triple-S Management, said “We come together to build on our respective strengths to remove barriers and better serve our communities. We look forward to the many possibilities of advancing health in Puerto Rico, Florida and beyond.”
“This is a powerful combination through which we can really evolve beyond the boundaries of traditional health insurance and create innovative solutions for the members we serve providing the right setting and connecting people to care,” he added.
