Dive Brief:
- Teladoc Health has acquired Australian virtual care provider Telecare as the telehealth company looks to bolster its international presence.
- Financial terms of the deal weren’t disclosed, and the transaction is expected to be immaterial to Teladoc’s financial results in 2025, the company said in a press release Thursday.
- The purchase comes on the heels of two other acquisitions by Teladoc this year. The telehealth company bought virtual preventive care firm Catapult Health in February and mental healthcare provider UpLift in April.
Dive Insight:
Telecare operates a virtual care clinic with more than 30 specialties, handling appointments referred by general practitioners and offering services to public hospitals in Australia, according to a press release.
The company will continue to operate in the country under its existing brand with its current management team. The deal closed on Aug. 8, Teladoc said.
“We believe joining forces with Telecare will help us advance our mission—especially for those in regional and remote areas—by combining our technological solutions and services to support one of the leading health markets around the world,” Carlos Nueno, Teladoc’s president of international, said in a statement.
The purchase of Telecare comes as Teladoc has prioritized international expansion. In the second quarter, the firm’s international revenue increased 10% to $112.2 million.
The firm’s international business now accounts for more than 15% of Teladoc’s consolidated revenue, CEO Chuck Divita said on a second quarter earnings call last month. Teladoc already operates a “robust” international business in its integrated care segment, which includes business-to-business virtual care offerings, he said.
The company has operated in Australia for 15 years, offering virtual care services through insurers and hospitals. Teladoc has also recently deployed other products in the country, including a virtual neonatology offering at the Mater Misericordiae University Hospital, and a virtual telesurgery support system with Central Queensland Hospital and Health Service, the company said in the Thursday press release.
“We continue to evaluate opportunities to increase our position across both existing and new geographies,” Divita said on the earning call in July.
M&A should also play an important role for Teladoc, the CEO said at a conference this summer.
Buying Catapult, which offers a virtual annual exam with an in-home diagnostic kit, should allow Teladoc to catch members’ health conditions early and funnel them toward its other offerings, like chronic condition management programs, the company said.
And the UpLift purchase aims to speed the company’s ability to accept insurance coverage for care delivered by its direct-to-consumer mental health segment, BetterHelp, executives said.
