Local Startup in 1979 Sold to Roper Industries for $1.42 Billion
Tucson software firm sold for $1.4 billion
Fla.-based Roper buys Sunquest in 1 of biggest merger deals here
July 21, 2012 - Phil Villarreal Arizona Daily Star
In a $1.42 billion deal, Roper Industries has bought Tucson medical software developer Sunquest Information Systems Inc.
The all-cash merger announced Monday includes cash tax benefits totaling $25 million.
The deal is believed to be among the highest dollar-figure mergers in Tucson-area history, ranking alongside Roche Holding AG’s $3.4 billion purchase of Oro Valley’s Ventana Medical Systems in 2008 and Texas Instruments’ $7.6 billion purchase of Burr-Brown Corp. in 2000.
Sunquest, which creates and implements diagnostic and laboratory software for more than 1,700 health-care providers around the world, was established in 1979.
Among the company’s creations is a barcode-based system that manages blood collections and transfusions. The company has about 300 full-time-equivalent employees.
Tucson Medical Center uses Sunquest’s Laboratory Information System, said hospital spokesman Michael Letson.
A private investor group has owned the company since a 2010 recapitalization led by Huntsman Gay Global Capital in partnership with Vista Equity Partners.
Sarasota, Fla.-based Roper traces its roots to a U.S. appliance maker founded in the late 1800s and became Roper Industries in 1981. The company, which sold off its appliance business in 1988, is now a diversified maker of medical and industrial equipment.
Roper is on the upswing, with profit rising for the last three quarters and revenue for the last four. On Monday the company reported quarterly net earnings up 8 percent to $114.8 million, or $1.15 a share. Revenue for the quarter rose 3.6 percent to $724.9 million.
Sunquest will keep its branding.
The deal is expected to close within 30 days.
“Sunquest is led by an outstanding and proven leadership team that impressed us with their culture of execution and the results they have created,” Roper Chairman, President and CEO Brian Jellison said in a written statement. “We look forward to working with the Sunquest team to enhance the value of the business for the benefit of customers, employees and shareholders.”
Sunquest President and CEO Richard Atkin said in a written statement that the merger will help Sunquest “have the financial and strategic resources necessary to provide enhanced product offerings and expand into new areas.”
Representatives of Sunquest and Roper did not respond to requests for comment beyond their written remarks.
Joseph Goedert, news editor of Health Data Management Magazine, said he was surprised that the price of the acquisition was so high, but said the merger is a way for Roper “to get a pretty good foot” in the health-care industry.
Sunquest “is a company that has had a lot of owners over the years, but has always been stable,” Goedert said.
“(Roper) did pick up a stable, veteran leader in the laboratory market.”
At a glance
Roper Industries
What it does: designs and manufactures energy systems and controls, scientific and industrial imaging products and software, industrial technology products and radio-frequency products and services.
Annual revenue
$2.7 billion
Employees
8,050
Based in
Sarasota, Fla.
Founded in
1981
DID YOU KNOW?
Tucson-based Sunquest Information Systems was founded in 1979 by Sidney Goldblatt, director of the clinical laboratory at Conemaugh Hospital in Johnstown, Pa.; Jim Peebles of the Airborne Instrument Laboratory at Johns Hopkins University; and Robert Morrison, an engineer of interface technology at the former Burr-Brown Corp.
Sunquest has had several owners over the years. In 2002, the company changed its name to Misys Healthcare Systems to reflect its then-ownership by the British company Misys. The Sunquest name came back in 2007, after Vista Equity Partners purchased Misys’ Tucson operation.
The company is headquartered at 250 S. Williams Blvd.
Source: Star archives
Contact reporter Phil Villarreal at pvillarreal@azstarnet.com or 573-4130.
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