Walmart Acquires Health Management Startup CareZone's Technology, Reportedly For $200M

Walmart Inc. WMT has acquired CareZone's technology and intellectual property, the retailing giant confirmed to CNBC on Monday.

What Happened

CareZone provides health and medicine management services to its customers through mobile apps. The startup also runs an e-commerce platform "CareFlow," where it delivers medications sorted by the doses listed on the prescription.

According to CNBC, the online pharmacy isn't part of the Walmart acquisition. About 25 to 30 engineers from the CareZone team will join the Arkansas-based company to help it develop its health and wellness line of services.

Walmart didn't share financial details of the transaction, but sources close to the matter told CNBC that it paid $200 million for the acquisition.

Why It Matters

Healthcare has been a key growth area for the e-commerce sector, and Walmart competes with Amazon.com Inc. AMZN for the market share.

The Seattle-based rival in June 2018 acquired PillPack, which offered similar services as CareZone, beating Walmart with a higher bidding price at the time.

Price Action

Walmart shares closed nearly 0.3% higher at $118.08 on Monday. The shares added another 0.4% in the after-hours session at $118.60.

Image: CareZone