iSOFT toehold in US market with US$14.9 million acquisition

Peter Dinham
Thursday, 13 August 2009 16:29

IT Industry - Strategy

Australia's largest listed health information technology company, iSOFT, has entered the US market for the first time with acquisition of application integration software group, BridgeForward, boosting its product offering with the addition of a broader range of interoperability solutions and services.

Under the deal iSOFT has paid upfront US$4.9 million upfront, with a further earn-out, capped at US$10 million, which iSOFT will pay over a five-year period.

BridgeForward will operate as subsidiary of iSOFT from its offices in Boston and London, and iSOFT says the deal boosts its portfolio of interoperable solutions for the global healthcare market and gives the company its first toehold in the US.

iSOFT executive chairman & CEO, Gary Cohen, says the BridgeForward acquisition, which expands iSOFT’s footprint to 39 countries, provides two major benefits to the company.
 
“First it’s an important toehold for us in the US market. President Obama has recently signed into law an investment of over US$19 billion to accelerate the adoption of computerised medical records. This is directed towards interoperability of healthcare record between healthcare providers.

“Our Lorenzo health studio product, together with the BridgeForward product, is aimed at winning a slice of this new and growing market.”

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