Shareholders of EMIS Group have approved a £1.24 billion all-cash takeover deal.
The Leeds-based software provider to the NHS is set to be acquired by Optum Health Solutions UK Ltd, a subsidiary of healthcare and insurance company UnitedHealth Group Inc, which is based in Minnesota in the US.
The boards of the two companies reached agreement on the deal in June and shareholders have now waved it through, although the courts are yet to approve the deal.
UnitedHealth will acquire EMIS for 1,925 pence per share in cash, a 49% premium on the company’s closing price of 1,292p on June 16th, the day before the agreement was announced.
The share price jumped to 1,901p on June 17th and have remained consistent since then, with a current value of 1,868p at the time of writing (2.30pm UK).
“We believe this combination will have the resources and expertise to enable us to better support the NHS and clinicians through technology innovations,” EMIS CEO Andy Thorburn said in June.
“EMIS’s long standing track record of delivering effective technology solutions and strong financial and operating performance combined with UnitedHealth Group’s resources and expertise will enable us to accelerate our development.
“We therefore consider that the combined group will be well positioned to serve its customers and partners in the UK’s healthcare system, whilst ensuring EMIS remains a strong organisation supporting the NHS, thereby fulfilling EMIS’s purpose of enabling better care through technology innovation.”
As of 2021, EMIS employed around 1,500 staff. It made a pair of acquisitions, FourteenFish and Edenbridge Healthcare, earlier this year.