Medfusion, a Cary company whose software is used by tens of thousands of physicians, has agreed to be acquired for $91 million by a publicly traded software giant that wants to broaden its offerings in the health care arena.
Intuit, the company behind popular software packages such as Quicken and TurboTax, announced after the stock market closed Monday that it has signed a definitive agreement to purchase 10-year-old Medfusion.
Stephen Malik, the founder and CEO of Medfusion, said the Intuit brand name and its greater resources will enable the business to capitalize on billions of dollars of federal stimulus money available to doctors that adopt new technology.
"We think it is a great opportunity to bring the two companies together and really solve some problems for patients and provide a lot of efficiency to [health care] providers," Mailk said.
Medfusion has 109 employees, all of whom will be retained.
In fact, expanding the operation in Cary is "a key part of our business strategy," said Rick Altinger, a director at Intuit Healthcare.
"We value the presence in North Carolina, which is a health care hub and a great place to live," he said.
Malik stands to become enormously wealthy after the deal is consummated, because he owns the great majority of Medfusion.
He founded the company in 2000 and boot-strapped its growth until about 18 months ago, when he raised $2.2 million from outside investors.
Medfusion software enables patients to make appointments, pay their bills, request prescription refills, complete medical forms, review lab results and perform other tasks over the Internet.
The company is "the industry leader in patient-provider communications solutions," Altinger said. Its software is used by more than 30,000 physicians and more than 2 million patients.
Intuit's health care division offers Quicken Health Bill Pay, which lets physicians bill patients online in an easy-to-understand format.
"The plan is to meld the best of both worlds," Altinger said.
Medfusion's online software already incorporates Quicken Health Bill Pay, which is how the two companies came to know each other and realize that there were "some natural synergies between the two companies," Malik said.
Malik will become a senior vice president and general manager of Intuit's health care division who reports to Intuit CEO Brad Smith after the deal is completed. The transaction is expected to close before July 31.
Intuit reported revenue of $3.1 billion in the fiscal year 2009 and has about 7,800 employees worldwide. The company is based in Mountain View, Calif.
