Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
Technology giant Oracle on Monday said it will buy Cerner, one of the largest vendors of electronic health record systems, for $28.3 billion in cash.
Why it matters: Oracle becomes an even bigger health care player, as 25% of all hospitals use Cerner's electronic records system.
The big picture: The deal, first reported by the Wall Street Journal, is the biggest-ever for Oracle.
- Oracle already sells different types of software to health insurers, hospitals, drug companies and public health departments.
- The tech giant could use the Cerner acquisition as a way to convince hospitals and physician clinics to convert more of their software to Oracle's.
Between the lines: Cerner has long been very profitable, but its earnings started to plateau before the pandemic and it still trails Epic in EHR market share.
- Selling Cerner is a quick turnaround for CEO David Feinberg, who was at Google and used to lead Geisinger Health System before taking over Cerner last August.