Oracle Corporation completed the purchase of Cerner Corporation on June 8, a deal certain to impact Clay County and Greater Kansas City.
The $28.3 billion transaction was first reported in December. The deal was essentially finalized with successful passage of an antitrust review in Europe and a deadline for U.S. review in February.
Headquartered in Clay County, Cerner is a global leader in electronic health records and a national leader in health care IT. The organization has become Greater Kansas City’s largest private employer.
Headquartered in Austin, Tex., after moving from Redwood City, California, Oracle is the 14th-largest tech employer in Austin with roughly 2,500 local employees. The corporation has a market capitalization of approximately $194.7 billion, while Cerner has about $27.93 billion.
Oracle expects the purchase to provide boost in its health care market and, coupled with Oracle’s platform strength, is seen as a way to improve health care IT with cloud-based, “accessible everywhere” systems.
The local and regional impact is uncertain. Oracle has said Cerner will continue to operate as a major presence in this region, but no details have been announced. Cerner employs over 12,000 people in Greater Kansas City.
