IBM Watson Health Finally Sold by IBM After 11 Months of Rumors
upstart writes:
IBM Watson Health Finally Sold by IBM After 11 Months of Rumors:
IBM has sold its underachieving IBM Watson Health unit for an undisclosed price tag to a global investment firm after almost a year's worth of rumors that said IBM has been trying to exit this part of its business.
In a terse Jan. 21 announcement, IBM said that Francisco Partners is acquiring the healthcare data and analytics assets from the IBM Watson Health business unit, including Health Insights, MarketScan, Clinical Development, Social Program Management, Micromedex, and imaging software offerings.
Rumors about IBM wanting to sell its Watson Health unit - which reportedly brought in $1 billion in revenue annually but has failed to make a profit - have been circulating in the press at least twice since at least February of 2021. The reports said the move was being eyed so that Big Blue could get out of the healthcare market and focus its operations and sights on the lucrative cloud computing market.
A Jan. 21 report on the sale by Bloomberg said the value of the assets involved in the transaction total more than $1 billion, according to people familiar with the plans.
According to IBM's announcement, which is the first time that the company has commented on a possible sale of IBM Watson Health since the rumors began, the transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of this year and is subject to customary regulatory clearances.
What is unclear from the company's press release is whether the sale includes all the analytics and data holdings from Watson Health or if IBM will retain any part of that business at all. The release does not give any further details on the nature of the sale.
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