Months after snapping up home-care company Signify Health for $8 billion, CVS Health now has its eyes set on purchasing a sizable primary care offering.

CVS is nearing a $10.5 billion deal to acquire Oak Street Health, the Chicago-based operator of a network of nearly 170 value-based primary care centers, according to a report published in The Wall Street Journal late Monday evening.

Sources said the deal could be announced as early as this week, which happens to coincide with CVS’ scheduled Q4 2022 earnings release. In light of the reporting, Oak Street Health’s stock skyrocketed during the early Tuesday morning trading session, up more than 31%. 

CVS’ interest in acquiring Oak Street Health was first reported by Bloomberg in early January around the time of the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference. Oak Street Health also has private equity backing from General Atlantic and Newlight Partners, according to Bloomberg.

Acquiring Oak Street Health, which is focused on direct care delivery for more than 159,000 patients per year, including primarily those enrolled in Medicare, would mark the latest expansion effort for CVS. 

In addition to its reported interest in the company, CVS has participated in venture rounds for both Monogram Health and Array Behavioral Care in recent months while also investing $100 million in Carbon Health, according to Axios. 

The fact that CVS is on the move again will come as little surprise to industry observers who have seen the pharmacy company continue to move into different segments of the healthcare sector since it acquired insurer Aetna in 2018 for $69 billion.

Following the Signify deal over the summer, Sunny Kumar, MD, Partner at GSR Ventures, predicted that the acquisition would “further empower” to pursue other opportunities in healthcare.

CVS also has plenty of capital to deploy to expand its footprint and compete not only with healthcare rivals like Walmart and Walgreens but also with the likes of non-traditional players like Amazon, which just recently launched RxPass, a $5-per-month prescription drug delivery service.

According to its most recent earnings report, CVS’ total revenues increased 10% and recorded an adjusted operating income year-over-year increase of $160 million.