Jacksonville-based GuideWell Mutual Holding Corp., parent of Florida Blue, announced a $900 million deal Aug. 24 to acquire a health care services company in Puerto Rico.
GuideWell agreed to buy San Juan-based Triple-S Management Corp., a publicly traded company that provides services under the Blue Cross and Blue Shield brand.
“The transaction expands GuideWell’s core insurance operations and positions Florida Blue and Triple-S Management for significant growth and meaningful value creation for the customers and communities we serve,” GuideWell CEO Pat Geraghty said in a news release.
“With Puerto Rico’s outlook strengthening, and Florida experiencing fast-paced growth, especially in its Puerto Rican and Hispanic populations, this is a natural next step.”
Upon completion of the merger, expected in the first half of 2022, Triple-S will become a subsidiary of GuideWell and continue to operate under its current management.
GuideWell is paying $36 a share to buy Triple-S, which it said is a premium of about 49% to the company’s average trading price over the last 90 days.
Triple-S reported $3.7 billion in revenue last year.
As a not-for-profit mutual holding company, GuideWell does not report full financial results but the company’s annual revenue is estimated at about $20 billion.