GE Healthcare on Thursday said it will acquire IDX Systems Corp. for $1.3 billion in cash, expanding its bet in health-care business management.GE will pay $44 per share of IDX, a 25 per cent premium over the stock’s closing price on Wednesday. IDX shares rose 23 percent Thursday on Nasdaq.The deal will combine IDX’s clinical and imaging information systems with GE’s clinically focused Centricity information technology products.Vishal Wanchoo, president and chief executive of GE Healthcare Information Technologies, said the deal will represent a marriage of equals, joining GE’s $750 million IT unit with IDX, which will have sales of about $600 million this year.“It will create one of the largest healthcare information-technology businesses in the world. It will be roughly a $1.4 billion business,” he said. The deal, subject to IDX shareholder and regulatory approval and other customary conditions, is expected to close by early 2006. Wanchoo said it would be immediately accretive to earnings.He said the deal should push growth at the fledgling GE unit, resulting in 15-20 per cent organic growth. —Reuters
