Oracle is currently negotiating to buy healthcare data firm Cerner in a deal that could be worth approximately $30 billion.
Citing people familiar with the matter, the Wall Street Journal said the deal could be worth approximately $30 billion, making it Oracle’s biggest acquisition to date, almost three times bigger than the $10 billion acquisition of PeopleSoft that took place back in 2005.
Cerner, which specializes in digitalizing medical records, has a market value of around $23 billion, with Oracle valued at more than $280 billion.
Arms race heating up
Headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri, Cerner was founded in 1979, and currently has 26,400 employees and annual revenue of $5.5 billion, according to data from Datanyze.
The deal would only solidify Oracle’s already strong presence in the healthcare industry, as it currently offers software tech for health insurers, healthcare providers, and public health systems.
Oracle was founded in 1977 by billionaire Larry Ellison, who still owns almost half of the company’s shares (42%). Ellison stepped down as company CEO in 2014, handing off the baton to Ms. Catz and the late Mark Hurd, but is still the company’s CTO and chairman.
Buying Cerner would heat up the “arms race” with Microsoft, who is also showing increasing interest in digital healthcare tools. Back in April 2021, the Redmond software giants acquired AI company Nuance Communications for $16 billion.
The WSJ also believes buying Cerner would help Oracle pivot more towards the cloud, a move that’s been getting plenty of praise from its investors and stakeholders.
Via: Wall Street Journal
