The Wall Street Journal

Oracle said to be in talks to buy medical-records company Cerner

Last Updated: Dec. 17, 2021 at 12:24 a.m. ET First Published: Dec. 17, 2021 at 12:23 a.m. ET

By

Cara Lombardo

and

Dana Cimilluca

Kansas City–based Cerner, which designs software that hospitals and doctors use to store and analyze medical records and other healthcare data, has a market value of around $23 billion

A 2009 view of Oracle’s then–world headquarters in Redwood Shores, Calif.

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Oracle Corp. is in talks to buy electronic-medical-records company Cerner Corp., according to people familiar with the matter, a deal that could be worth around $30 billion and push the enterprise-software giant further into healthcare.

An agreement could be finalized soon, some of the people said, assuming the talks don’t fall apart or drag out. Should a deal come together, it would rank as the biggest ever for Oracle ORCL, -0.41%, which has a market value of more than $280 billion.

Kansas City, Mo.–based Cerner CERN, +0.72% designs software that hospitals and doctors use to store and analyze medical records and other healthcare data. It has a market value of around $23 billion. With a typical takeover premium, a deal would be expected to value the company at something like $30 billion, though exact terms being discussed couldn’t be learned.

Oracle, a Silicon Valley veteran that last year moved its headquarters to Austin, Texas, is one of the biggest software providers to other companies and organizations.

An expanded version of this report appears at WSJ.com.

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