Dec 20, 2021 - Health

Oracle to buy Cerner for $28 billion, its largest-ever acquisition

Bob Herman

White Oracle name on a blue headquarters building. — 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.

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Oracle to buy Cerner for $28 billion, its largest-ever acquisition

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