Merger Will Create First and Only One-Stop-Shop for Employee Health, Wellbeing and Benefits Engagement; Combined Company Will Have More Than 3,300 Customers Across 190 Countries
PROVIDENCE, R.I., May 21, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Providence-based Virgin Pulse and Minneapolis-based RedBrick Health announced today that the industry pioneers will merge, creating the world’s largest, most comprehensive digital health and engagement company. This powerful combination will deliver the industry’s only fully integrated digital platform, with benefits navigation and live coaching to support global clients and members across the entire health, wellbeing and benefits lifecycle – from screening and assessment to activation, behavior change and the adoption of sustainable, healthy habits.
“We are thrilled to join with RedBrick to set a new vision and standard for employee health, wellbeing and engagement,” said David Osborne, Virgin Pulse CEO, who will serve as CEO of the combined company. “Bringing RedBrick’s live and digital coaching and benefits navigation together with Virgin Pulse’s mobile-first, daily engagement platform allows us to deliver the industry’s only global, one-stop-shop for employees and employers. As first-movers in this space, and with substantial investment from our new partner, Marlin Equity Partners, we are well-positioned to execute an aggressive growth strategy and change even more lives around the world for good.”
Virgin Pulse and RedBrick are clear industry leaders in employee health, wellbeing and engagement, with each company delivering highly complementary capabilities to the market. To ensure the best possible experience for all clients, the combined company will continue to support and innovate on both the Virgin Pulse and RedBrick platforms, while making the best-in-class capabilities of each solution available across both client bases.
By the end of this year, Virgin Pulse clients will be able to access RedBrick’s health assessments, expert live and digital coaching, and benefits navigation through Virgin Pulse’s API-based framework, allowing Virgin Pulse to interact more deeply with members to optimize their health and wellbeing. In addition, RedBrick clients will have access to Virgin Pulse’s unparalleled challenge capabilities.
“Virgin Pulse and RedBrick are a logical fit, and it should be no surprise that we are finally coming together,” said Dan Ryan, CEO of RedBrick. “The merger is a win for the entire industry – clients, consumers, partners, consultants – and raises the bar for what employers and employees should expect from their engagement partner. Combining our product portfolios and resources allows us to maximize our investments in R&D and operations, and ensures that our clients and consumers have access to the best, most innovative wellbeing and engagement solutions and services available.”
“Our investment, which brings together two leaders in the health and wellbeing market, underscores our strong belief in the potential to transform this highly fragmented industry,” said Michael Anderson, a managing director at Marlin Equity Partners which also recently acquired RedBrick Health. “This is a multibillion-dollar market that is hungry for innovation, desperate for disruption and ripe for consolidation, and we are committed to doubling down on these two leaders to move this market forward and unlock the value of employee health and wellbeing.”
Virgin Pulse is widely recognized for having the industry’s highest member engagement rates, with daily usage rivaling the most popular consumer applications such as Facebook and Twitter. The company’s flagship SaaS platform, Virgin Pulse Engage™, delivers personalized, mobile-first experiences that support employees in improving their health and wellbeing every day. RedBrick Health was an early pioneer in delivering outcomes-focused health and benefits engagement solutions, and is highly regarded for its customizable integration platform, digital and live coaching, health assessments, biometric screening services and award-winning experience. With highly configurable workflows, integration capabilities, strong expertise in custom program design and a successful record of serving complex, distributed organizations, RedBrick has firmly established itself as the partner of choice for large enterprises.
Together, Virgin Pulse and RedBrick have the largest customer base in the industry, with over 3,300 clients including public sector organizations, health plans, universities and more than 20 percent of the Fortune Global 500 companies. The combination of the two companies also creates an extensive and growing network of strategic ecosystem partners spanning mental wellbeing, financial wellbeing, sleep, nutrition, telemedicine, cost transparency, treatment decision support and more.
RedBrick and Virgin Pulse will unite under the Virgin Pulse name but continue to operate as separate brands. The combined organization will be based out of Virgin Pulse’s corporate headquarters in Providence, RI, and will maintain a major office in Minneapolis, MN and a coaching center in Phoenix, AZ. The company also has global centers of excellence in multiple international locations, including Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Bosnia, Brazil and Singapore.
Marlin is acquiring Virgin Pulse from its prior investors, including Insight Venture Partners. The merger is expected to close this month. Financial details of the transaction have not been disclosed. Evercore acted as financial advisor and Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP served as legal advisor to Virgin Pulse. Raymond James & Associates, Inc. acted as financial advisor, and Goodwin Procter LLP served as legal advisor to RedBrick. William Blair & Company, LLC acted as financial advisor and Kirkland & Ellis LLP served as legal advisor to Marlin.
