Oracle Acquires Kantar Health Buyer Cerner

Software giant Oracle has paid $28.3 billion to acquire healthcare technology provider Cerner, which itself recently acquired Kantar Health.

Cerner provides digital information systems used by hospitals and health systems to modernize electronic health records, improve the caregiver experience, and streamline and automate clinical and administrative workflows. Last year, the group agreed to acquire Kantar Health, which provided analytics and research to the life sciences industry with a particular focus in oncology and rare diseases. Since then, Kantar Health's team around the world, its research and consulting solutions and global clients have been integrated with Cerner's Strategic Growth business.

Oracle says the buy will allow it to address the issue of physicians spending one to two hours on desk work for every hour spent in face-to-face contact with patients. Cerner will become a dedicated Industry Business Unit within Oracle, helping it expand into the healthcare sector, and it will use Oracle's global footprint to reach new geographies.

Larry Ellison, Chairman and CTO of Oracle, comments: 'Working together, Cerner and Oracle have the capacity to transform healthcare delivery by providing medical professionals with better information, enabling them to make better treatment decisions resulting in better patient outcomes. With this acquisition, This new generation of medical information systems promises to lower the administrative workload burdening our medical professionals, improve patient privacy and outcomes, and lower overall healthcare costs'.

The transaction is expected to close in calendar year 2022.

Web sites: www.oracle.com and www.cerner.com .