End of the affair: IBA and iSoft finally united

The saga of IBA Health's acquisition of iSoft is has now been concluded, following the completion of legal manoeuvres which allow the takeover to go ahead.< p>

The London Stock Exchange suspended trading of UK healthcare software company iSoft shares on 25 October, after the High Court of Justice of England and Wales approved healthcare vendor IBA's revised scheme to take over the company from that day.

IBA shareholders were formally notified the following day that the acquisition would be effective as of 30 October, coming at a total cost of 166 million pounds.

IBA will be holding its AGM on 30 November, where it is expected that directors will announce a recommendation to change its name to IBA Health Group Ltd, according to a statement released today.

IBA said the acquisition will not affect iSoft's key role in the UK National Programme for IT, as the merged company will continue working on the Lorenzo clinical records software platform with CSC.

Investment firm Allco Equity Partners (AEP) also participated in the merger as partial backers of IBA, providing AU$300 million worth of capital for the bid, in return for an undisclosed number of shares and convertible notes.

The announcement comes after months of stop-start negotiations over the acquisition that saw IBA fending off an eleventh hour rival takeover bid.