Oracle to buy Cerner for $28.3 billion deal

Oracle, the second-biggest software maker by revenue, is best known for legacy database products and in recent years has struggled to gain ground in cloud computing, trailing far behind market leaders such as Amazon.com Inc. and Microsoft Corp.

The all-cash transaction, Oracle’s biggest-ever deal, will see Oracle pay $95 a share, the companies announced in a statement Monday.

Oracle Corp. agreed to acquire medical-records systems provider Cerner Corp. for about $28.3 billion, a deal that would add a broad customer base in the health-care industry to bolster the software maker’s cloud-computing and database businesses.

The acquisition is Oracle’s biggest since its 2016 purchase of NetSuite Inc., a deal valued at $8.7 billion. That purchase has provided Oracle with a financial software targeted to small and mid-sized businesses, which has become among Oracle’s fastest growing products.