Cloudbreak Health, a telehealth company specializing in remote interpreting services, announced on June 15 the completion of its special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) transaction with UpHealth, another company that provides telehealth services. In their announcement, the companies noted that this merger creates one of the only profitable and publicly traded global digital health companies.
“This combination furthers our mission by providing healthcare solutions enabling equitable access to inclusive care for diverse populations,” said former chief executive officer of Cloudbreak and president of UpHealth, Jamey Edwards. “This is about pioneering new care models and empowering clinical teams globally to deliver high quality healthcare for all patients anytime, anywhere, on any device and in any language.”
Based in Los Angeles, Cloudbreak first began offering interpreting services through video-based carts, however it has since expanded to offer numerous other medical interpreting services, including, but not limited to, telepsychiatry, telestroke services, and remote patient monitoring. The company announced in November that it would be undergoing an SPAC transaction, which was approved June 4. The combined company now works under the name of UpHealth, and is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “UPH.”
As defined by CNBC, an SPAC is a sort of “shell company set up by investors with the sole purpose of raising money through an IPO to eventually acquire another company.” CNBC notes that SPACs have become a relatively prominent trend on Wall Street in recent years.
“With the completion of our business combinations, we are now in the position to accelerate the expansion of our unique digital care management model,” said Dr. Ramesh Balakrishnan, CEO of UpHealth Holdings. “With access to significant growth capital allowing us to rapidly deploy our solutions that connect the dots across the care continuum, UpHealth, Inc., as a public company, will have a stronger capital structure and a public currency to drive both organic and inorganic growth strategies.”
