Benefits Administration Technology Firm Acquired by Insurance Provider as Private Exchange Technology Musical Chairs Game Continues
Greetings from Los Angeles! While I’ll be sharing some blog posts over the next weeks about why I’m out on the west coast and about the really interesting people I’ve been meeting with, I’m going to have to forestall that to bring you the hot off the presses news! (Isn’t it just Murphy’s Law that while I’m out of town on a Monday, significant news had to break?!)
So as we’ve talked about in these pages, our HR Technology world changes constantly and another change is upon us. bswift, a Chicago-based vendor of Benefits Administration and Private Exchange has been acquired by Aetna. Aetna announced the $400 million acquisition this morning. bswift has offered a Benefits Administration platform since 1996 and launched its Springboard Marketplace private health care exchange in February 2014.
We are still investigating what this acquisition means for current clients, but we suspect business as usual. Will this touch off a purchase rally among Insurance Providers for Benefits Administration delivery systems to provide their exchange foundation? What does this mean for Cigna – Aetna’s competitor – who I believe recently selected bswift as their Private Exchange delivery system? What are your thoughts on this new shift in the HR Tech ecosystem? Did you see it coming?
To read the full press release from Aetna, click here. For the press release from Employee Benefits Advisor, click here.