New Zealand-based Orion Health Group announced that it will sell its Rhapsody business unit for $205 million to private equity firm Hg. The U.K.-based firm will also take a quarter stake in Orion’s Population Health unit for $20 million.
Publicly traded Orion Health (NZX:OHE/ASX:OHE) built the first Rhapsody integration engine in the late 1990s and it became a popular interoperability platforms used by health information exchanges and health systems. But it had recently faced financial troubles and has cut 177 jobs since March 2018. In a recent Healthcare Informatics interview, Laura Young, executive director of healtheConnect Alaska, mentioned that her organization was stepping away from its technology relationship with Orion.
"This investment provides Orion Health with a tremendous opportunity to deliver on our vision for customers, our people and for the healthcare sector," said Ian McCrae, founder and CEO of Orion Health, in a prepared statement. "The board and I believe that Hg is the right partner to accelerate the expansion of Rhapsody and support our vision for our Population Health business."
This investment will be made from Hg's Mercury 2 Fund. Philippe Houssiau, formerly CEO of Agfa Healthcare, CEO of Alliance Medical and a senior partner with PwC, will lead the Rhapsody business.
