Intelerad acquires competitor Ambra Health to form $1.7B enterprise imaging giant

Intelerad Medical Systems is acquiring cloud-based medical imaging company Ambra Health in a major radiology software deal.

The companies did not disclose financial details of the deal but estimate the newly formed entity to be worth $1.7 billion.

It marks Intelerad’s fourth deal in 2021, following the heels of its acquisition of clinical workflow automation company Heart Imaging Technologies (HeartIT), Lumedx, an Oakland, California, cardiovascular analytics company, and Digisonics, which focuses on both obstetric and cardiovascular reporting systems.

Bloomberg reported that Intelerad, a medical imaging software company backed by European buyout firm Hg, will pay more than $250 million for Ambra Health, according to people familiar with the deal who asked not to be identified because the information was private. 

The combined platform will provide physicians, patients and researchers a cloud solution for reading, storing and sharing diagnostic imaging. The combined company says it now manages more than 10 billion medical images and will read upward of 130 million exams each year. The companies also will serve nearly 2,000 customers globally, including all of the top 10 U.S. hospitals. 

The deal combines Intelerad’s picture archiving and communications system (PACS), which electronically stores images and reports, with Ambra's robust cloud VNA, image exchange functionality and research and pathology capabilities, the companies said.

The global hospital imaging IT market is estimated at $4.5 billion, according to the recent Signify Research Imaging IT World Report 2021.

Imaging needs will continue to facilitate growth in this market as hospitals and health systems increasingly turn to the cloud for image accessibility.

The deal significantly expands Intelerad's ability to enable distributed radiology reading, collaborative care solutions and advanced life science research in multiple markets to improve the health of populations, executives said.

RELATED: Intelerad Medical Systems acquiring HeartIT to boost cardiovascular imaging tech

“This acquisition positions Intelerad to enhance imaging accessibility and empower healthcare providers with the tools they need to deliver better patient outcomes,” said Mike Lipps, Intelerad Chief Executive Officer in a statement.

"For healthcare providers, moving to the cloud is not a matter of if, but when," Lipps said. "Partnering with Ambra is a significant milestone on our path to provide the most scalable and robust medical image management platform in the industry. And while many medical imaging vendors offer pieces of what providers need, Intelerad now offers the entire solution."

Ambra's clients include Johns Hopkins Medicine, Memorial Hermann and NewYork-Presbyterian, as well as radiology practices, subspecialty practices and clinical research organizations. Ambra’s cloud-based platform empowers radiologists and other providers to share and view images in real-time without a VPN or CD, improving patient engagement, continuity of care, and interoperability.

As a result of the acquisition, Ambra’s CEO Morris Panner will become president of the Montreal, Quebec, technology firm and report directly to Lipps.