I don’t own TDOC, but LVGO is my largest holding. I plan to hold LVGO until the merger. (Side note - you never know, it could fall through and LVGO could remain a stand-alone business. So, I think it’s premature to sell at this point even if you don’t want to own TDOC.) Also, I’m pretty sure I will keep the TDOC shares after the merge. The more I think about it, the more I am liking the future possibilities.
I like to think in terms of alternatives. If they did not merge, I assume TDOC would have tried to build out it’s own competing services in the areas that LVGO covers. A very long process, with lots of investment and risk. Realistically, it would have taken them years. The time they would have spent building it up would have prevented them from expanding in other areas. So, they paid a high premium, but they got the best-in-class company who is currently years ahead of anyone else. They get the product that is selling “like hot cakes”. If TDOC wanted to be in this space, then they did the absolute best thing they could have done - they bought an amazing company and instantly catapulted themselves into a whole different ball game.
If you are LVGO, your alternative would be to try to stay independent - knowing that you will have a huge battle looming against a solid company. LVGO would have had to develop the international expansion on their own which would have taken years and a lot of investment. There will still be investment needed for international, but it’s a whole lot easier when you have infrastructure and expertise in a bunch of countries around the world - which is what TDOC brings to the table.
The combined company has a YUGE head start over everyone else. No one else is even close, and it’s going to be extremely difficult for anyone else to get to their scale.
If there are other similar quality acquisitions in the future, I WANT TDOC to pursue them. I WANT them to become as monstrous and complex as possible. I want to see them become an absolute behemoth of a company that disrupts as many areas of health care as possible.
Would I have preferred that LVGO stay independent? If there was no major competition, then sure - that would have been great. But that’s not the way the world works. When you are growing 100% per year, someone is going to come after you. I do know that I can not think of any other company I would want them to merge with more than TDOC. So, it’s a little sad seeing them go, but I think it might be the best possible outcome.