U.S. primary care provider Cano Health Inc. CANO is reportedly looking into a sale and working with advisors after they received acquisition interest from Humana Inc HUM and CVS Health Corp CVS.
Hedge fund Third Point LLC, which owns 6.4% of Cano, has been pushing the company to put itself up for sale as its stock price has fallen since it went public last year, as a result of the SPAC transaction.
People familiar with the situation told Wall Street Journal that Humana and Cano are serious. A deal could be reached as soon as next week if talks don't break down.
After the article, Cano Health shares closed almost 40% up, giving the company a market value of nearly $5 billion.
A deal could come during a time of heavy consolidation in health care.
CVS will pay $8 billion for home health services provider Signify Health Inc. SGFY this month.
In July, Amazon.com Inc. AMZN agreed to acquire 1 life Healthcare Inc One Medical ONEM for $18 a share in an all-cash deal valuing the primary health care provider at roughly $3.9 billion.
The price action: CANO shares are up 3.96% at $8.67 during the last check Friday.