The company which supplies the electronic patient record system used by the majority of GPs in Britain is being circled by a pack of potential buyers, just two years after it last changed hands. Sky News has learnt that Blackstone is among a group of private equity firms exploring potential offers for Optum’s UK operation, which is owned by the New York-listed healthcare giant UnitedHealth Group.
Optum UK’s business includes EMIS, which was taken over by the UnitedHealth subsidiary in 2023 in a deal worth about £1.2bn. The takeover was engineered under the stewardship of Sir Andrew Witty, the former GlaxoSmithKline boss who recently stepped down as UnitedHealth’s chief executive.
The US-listed company’s stock has fallen by more than a third over the last year, leaving it with a market capitalization at Thursday’s close of just under $331bn. Bank of America is understood to have been engaged to advise on the sale process.
One private equity source said that UnitedHealth was keen to recoup the 2023 purchase price. The prospective sale formed part of efforts by Sir Andrew’s successor, Stephen Hemsley, to arrest the company’s alarming valuation decline, they added.
Optum’s takeover of EMIS deal was approved in September 2023 by British competition regulators following an in-depth Phase 2 investigation. A spokesperson for Optum said: «We do not comment on market speculation or rumors.»
Several other major financial investors are also understood to be in the early stages of exploring bids for the business. Blackstone declined to comment.
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