Health Catalyst to buy Twistle for $104.5M

Health Catalyst plans to acquire patient engagement company Twistle, the data warehousing and analytics company said Thursday.

Salt Lake City-based Health Catalyst will acquire Twistle’s equity interests for an estimated $104.5 million, plus a potential earn-out of up to $65 million based on performance targets, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Health Catalyst plans to fund the purchase with $57.5 million in cash and $47 million in company stock.

With the acquisition, Health Catalyst officials said the company hopes to bolster its set of population health tools for healthcare customers moving to value-based care models.

Albuquerque, N.M.-based Twistle sells software that automates text message, patient portal and other methods of communication between care teams and patients to support patients as they navigate an episode of care. That will add to Health Catalyst’s population health tools, which identify populations at risk for poor outcomes.

That means Health Catalyst’s tools could identify populations in need of outreach, which is handled through Twistle, according to Kulmeet Singh, Twistle’s founder and CEO.

“We are excited about the prospects of our joint solutions proactively engaging at-risk populations, advancing health equity and improving patient activation in their care,” he said in a statement.

Health Catalyst, founded in 2008, went public two years ago alongside a slew of other digital health companies.

Health Catalyst posted $55.8 million in revenue in 2021’s first quarter, up 23.8% year-over-year and split between $33.8 million in revenue from technology and $22 million from professional services. The company reported a $24.3 million operating loss, compared to a $18.1 million operating loss in the year-ago quarter.

Twistle, founded in 2011, is privately held.

Health Catalyst expects to complete the Twistle acquisition in the third quarter.