A UnitedHealth Group Inc. unit has agreed to acquire EMIS Group Plc in an all-cash deal that values the UK health-technology company at about £1.24 billion ($1.51 billion).
The companies said in a statement that Bordeaux UK Holdings II Limited, an affiliate of UnitedHealth’s Optum business in the UK, has agreed to buy EMIS for 1,925 pence in cash for each EMIS share.
EMIS provides healthcare software, information technology and other services in the UK, according to its website. Optum’s UK business has worked in the country for almost 20 years focusing on supporting the National Health Service, according to the announcement.
UnitedHealth’s Optum division is already a major supplier of health IT services in the US. A deal to expand its reach with the proposed acquisition of Change Healthcare Inc. faces a challenge from US competition regulators set to go to trial this summer.
The proposed transaction would be UnitedHealth’s largest disclosed acquisition in Europe since British executive Andrew Witty became chief executive officer last year.
