Bordeaux UK Holdings II Limited – an affiliate of Optum UK and part of US healthcare and insurance company UnitedHealth Group – agreed to buy EMIS Group for a cool £1.24 billion, the companies revealed last week (June 17).

The news of EMIS’ acquisition – which is expected to go through before the end of this year – comes just over two years since the software provider announced it had acquired PharmOutcomes’ previous owner, Pinnacle Health Partnership and Pinnacle Systems Management.

PharmOutcomes is used in about 85% of pharmacies in England, a spokesperson told C+D today (June 20).

No changes to UK operations

Commenting on the acquisition, Optum UK pledged to ensure the “continuity of EMIS’s existing business”.

The company's headquarters are expected to remain in Leeds, with “no material changes to its existing operations and locations”.

Optum UK does not anticipate changes to the overall headcount or “conditions of employment” at EMIS within the first year of the acquisition, it said.

C+D recently revealed that 9,122 pharmacies selected PharmOutcomes to provide the Community Pharmacist Consultation Service. 

“Optum UK and its affiliates have been present in the UK for nearly 20 years, seeking to support the NHS and its people in their mission,” the companies wrote in a statement announcing the deal.

Meanwhile, EMIS CEO Andy Thorburn said that access to “UnitedHealth Group’s resources and expertise will enable us to accelerate our development”.