Rumor: Amwell to acquire Talkspace?

The telehealth giant is reportedly in talks to acquire the mental health company for $1.50/share...

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Amwell is reportedly in discussions to acquire the online therapy app Talkspace for about $200 million or $1.50/share, according to a Calcalist report.

The deal is expected to be in Amwell shares, with the $1.50 price tag representing a 150% premium of Talkspace’s Friday closing price of 60 cents.

A possible deal comes after Seeking Alpha in June reported that Talkspace received but declined a buyout approach from Amwell. At that time, Talkspace rejected Amwell’s expression of interest before any numbers were discussed – according to a person familiar with the company’s operations at the time.

Talkspace also shot down a similar approach from privately held Mindpath at about $2.50 to $3 a share, according to the June report.

Moreover, a potential acquisition of Talkspace also comes after a report in late September that the largest investor was pushing for the company to appoint a permanent CEO and take steps to help stabilize the company’s faltering share price.

Talkspace, which has counted Olympic swimming gold medalist Michael Phelps and singer Demi Lovato as endorsers, went public through a high-profile SPAC deal last year, but has struggled since then. The company’s co-founder and CEO Oren Frank also stepped down in November.