GE Healthcare sells off health IT unit for $1B

GE Healthcare has sold a suite of IT tools that make up its value-based care division to private-equity firm Veritas Capital for $1.05 billion in cash.

The deal includes GE Healthcare’s revenue cycle, workforce management and ambulatory care EHR solutions, according to a joint announcement. It is expected to close by the end of the third quarter.

The divestiture comes as GE is making an effort to slim down its offerings under new CEO John Flannery and refocus its work. Kieran Murphy, president and CEO of GE Healthcare, indicated the company would continue investing in “core digital solutions” including “smart diagnostics, AI and enterprise imaging.”

“We will continue to lead in data analytics, command centers, advanced visualization and image management tools to create better customer and patient outcomes,” Murphy said in a statement.

The company appears intent on creating a more stable foothold within the healthcare analytics industry. Last year, GE Healthcare inked a 10-year deal with Partners HealthCare to develop artificial intelligence platforms, marking “one of the largest commitments” the company has ever made in digital health, according to a spokesperson. That partnership was announced months after a collaboration with the University of California San Francisco to use machine learning on image-based diagnoses.

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For Veritas Capital, the acquisition adds to several recent health IT investments.

“We see a tremendous opportunity to invest in this business and partner with management to take advantage of a $9 billion market that continues to benefit from favorable sector trends, particularly a real and urgent need to digitalize our healthcare system,” Veritas Capital CEO and Managing Partner Ramzi Musallam said.