Fresenius Medical Care announced today that it entered into an agreement to create a new company for providing kidney care.
The agreement combines Fresenius Medical Care North America’s value-based care division, Fresenius Health Partners, with InterWell Health and Cricket Health.
Both InterWell and Cricket represent U.S.-based kidney care providers, with Interwell a leading physician organization within the space and Cricket offering value-based kidney care with a patient engagement and data platform, according to a news release.
The merger combines Fresenius Health Partners’ kidney care expertise with InterWell’s clinical care models and network of 1,600 nephrologists and Cricket’s tech-enabled care model that uses its proprietary StageSmart informatics and patient engagement platforms.
Valued at $2.4 billion, the new company — which will be fully consolidated by Fresenius Medical Care as the majority owner — will operate under the InterWellHealth brand. The company aims to engage and manage the care of more than 270,000 people with kidney disease by 2025.
The closing of the transaction remains subject to regulatory review. Fresenius said it anticipates that it could close in the second half of 2022.
“This effort is an important next step in executing Fresenius Medical Care’s growth strategy 2025 to further expand along the renal care continuum and to refine and grow our future operating model in care delivery in the U.S. as part of the FME25 transformation,” Fresenius Medical Care CEO Rice Powell said in the release. “In bringing together the expertise and competence of three leading partners we will be broadening our offer and adding significant value to patients with chronic kidney disease all over the U.S.”