IBM today announced an agreement in which Francisco Partners will acquire its health care data and analytics assets, in a transaction that is expected to close in the second quarter of this year.
The assets are currently part of Watson Health, and include data sets and products like Health Insights, MarketScan, Clinical Development, Social Program Management, Micromedex and imaging software.
Although IBM did not confirm the value of the sale, Bloomberg has reported that it is valued at more than $1 billion.
The IBM division will transition to becoming a standalone company, retaining Watson Health’s current management team and existing clients.
“Today”™s agreement with Francisco Partners is a clear next step as IBM becomes even more focused on our platform-based hybrid cloud and AI (artificial intelligence) strategy,” said Tom Rosamilia, senior vice president of IBM Software. “IBM remains committed to Watson, our broader AI business, and to the clients and partners we support in health care IT. Through this transaction, Francisco Partners acquires data and analytics assets that will benefit from the enhanced investment and expertise of a healthcare industry focused portfolio.”
Francisco Partners is a global investment firm headquartered in San Francisco with more than $30 billion in assets. It specializes in tech companies and tech-based investments. Its experience with medical and health care tech companies includes its current and past investments in Availity, eSolutions, Capsule, GoodRx, Landmark, QGenda, Trellis and Zocdoc.
“We have followed IBM”™s journey in health care data and analytics for a number of years and have a deep appreciation for its portfolio of innovative health care products,” said Ezra Perlman, copresident at Francisco. “IBM built a market leading team and provides its customers with mission critical products and outstanding service.”
