BOSTON – A Boston-based developer of imaging and information management solutions is set to start the new year under new ownership. 

Officials at AMICAS, Inc., announced Monday that the company entered into an agreement on Christmas Eve to be acquired by Thoma Bravo, LLC, a Chicago-based private equity firm, for approximately $217 million. If the deal is completed, the company would be privately owned.

AMICAS specializes in picture archiving and communications systems (PACS), offering imaging IT solutions for a wide range of healthcare settings, from radiology to cardiology. More recently, the company has expanded its platform to include revenue cycle management and enterprise content management tools, with the goal of providing a complete solution to power the imaging component of the electronic medical record.

“The agreement with Thoma Bravo provides an attractive all-cash valuation to our shareholders, and we look forward to completing the transaction under the terms of the agreement as expeditiously as possible,” said Stephen Kahane, MD, AMICAS’ president, chief executive officer and chairman. "We look forward to continuing our mission to provide the best solutions for image and information management in healthcare. We believe that working with Thoma Bravo will enable us to focus our resources on our business and our customers. With the additional capital and operational expertise available to AMICAS through Thoma Bravo, we will be able to grow as the needs of our customers evolve and will be enabled to better serve our market." 

“Thoma Bravo is excited to partner with the AMICAS management team to continue growing the company into the leading provider of image IT solutions for the healthcare industry," added Orlando Bravo, a managing partner at Thoma Bravo.

"Thoma Bravo will further strengthen the industry leadership position of AMICAS through organic growth initiatives, acquisitions and implementation of operational best practices," said Seth Boro, a principal at Thoma Bravo. "We look forward to helping AMICAS better serve the evolving needs of its healthcare industry customers."

This past year has been busy for AMICAS. In April, the company completed its $39 million purchase of Emageon, a Birmingham, Ala.-based technology provider to hospitals, healthcare facilities and imaging networks, then announced a deal with Sydney, Australia-based Healthinc to distribute its PACS, Reach and RadStream products Down Under.

In June, the company launched AMICAS Patient Services and AMICAS Payer Services, a suite of transaction services focused on helping imaging providers improve their revenue cycle management tasks. And just last week, the company announced a new contract with Lexington, Ky.-based Central Kentucky Radiology to implement both AMICAS RIS and AMICAS Financials at the 24-radiologist practice, which provides interpretation services for 14 hospitals and four imaging centers.

Under terms of the deal, which has been unanimously approved by AMICAS’ board of directors, AMICAS shareholders will receive $5.35 in cash for each share or stock option they hold – a 21 percent increase over the stock’s Dec. 24 closing price of $4.42. The deal is expected to close during the first quarter of 2010, following a 45-day period during which AMICAS officials can seek alternative proposals from third parties.