Oracle in talks to acquire medical tech firm Cerner for $30 bn

Would be Oracle's largest ever acquisition

Oracle is in talks to acquire healthcare technology firm Cerner for about $30 billion, according to the WSJ, which quotes unnamed sources.

The move, if it comes to fruition, would make Oracle a major player in one of the fastest growing areas of technology.

Cerner is a significant supplier of medical equipment, software and hardware based in Kansas City, Missouri, USA. Its software for storing and managing medical records is widely used, particularly in the US.

Cerner has been looking to expand its involvement with cloud services, and two years ago named AWS as its preferred supplier for cloud analytics and AI, so as deal with Oracle would be seen as something of a coup for the Texas-based software and cloud giant.

It would also be Oracle's largest ever acquisition, the previous record being set by its $9.3 billion purchase of NetSuite in 2016 to compete with cloud CRM and ERP services like Salesforce and Microsoft Dynamics and SAP.

Oracle's share price hit an all-time high last week after better than expected financial results valuing the firm at $280 billion, although they fell slightly on the news of the proposed acquisition. Meanwhile, Cerner shares rose 17.6 per cent.

Earlier this year Oracle was lined up to acquire Chinese social media app TikTok, before this was quashed by the US government on national security grounds.