Harris Corp. (HRS) agreed to buy privately held software maker
Carefx Corp. for $155 million in a bid to expand its footprint in
the growing market for health care information services.
Acquisitions in the health care IT sector have picked up of late
as demand for faster, less error-prone data management is expected
to rise over the next few years.
Shares of the company were down 1% to $48.16 in early trading
amid a general sell-off in the market.
The acquisition, which Harris will finance with cash and
commercial paper, will expand the company's government health care
presence beyond its current clients in the Department of Veterans
Affairs, Department of Defense and Social Security Administration,
among others. It will also provide an entry in the commercial
health care market, the company said.
The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter.
Harris posted a better-than-expected fiscal second-quarter
profit last month on strong demand from government and defense
customers. The company gets most of its sales from its
communications business.
Founded in 2002, Carefx employs almost 250 people. Its Fusionfx
platform is used in more than 800 hospitals, healthcare systems and
health information exchanges world-wide, Harris said.
-By Drew FitzGerald, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2909;
Andrew.FitzGerald@dowjones.com;