UPDATED: Thomson Reuters announces sale of healthcare division; unclear how it will affect 800-900 jobs in Ann Arbor

Thomson Reuters, the second largest private employer in Washtenaw County, announced the sale Monday morning in a news release. The purchase, which is subject to regulatory approval, is expected to be finalized in the next few months, the company said.

Besides the 900 workers at the healthcare division offices in the former 777 Building on Eisenhower Parkway, near South State Street, the company employs up to 1,000 people at a tax and accounting division in Dexter.

Thomson Reuters put the healthcare division on the market last June, then temporarily suspended the effort in December. CEO Thomas H. Glocer said in a statement last June that the unit was "a growing and profitable unit" but said it "lacks the integration with and global scale of our other units" and that a sale would provide cash that could be reinvested in other parts of Thomson Reuters' expansive business.

Thomson Reuters' $450 million health care and science unit offers a variety of services, including analyzing health care costs and trends and consulting to help health care systems and insurers cut costs.

"The acquisition will provide us with a unique and exciting opportunity to add a truly outstanding business and world-class management team to our portfolio and we look forward to building upon our experience in the healthcare analytics market,” Robert McKeon, chairman of Veritas Capital, said in the news release. “We look forward to welcoming the business and its talented employees … into the Veritas family."

A corporate spokesman for Thomson Reuters suggested questions about how the sale will impact Ann Arbor operations would be best addressed by Veritas Capital. A woman who answered the phone at McKeon's office at Veritas on Monday afternoon said he was traveling and unavailable for comment.

Veritas Capital is a private equity investment firm headquartered in New York. According to a press release, it invests in companies “that provide critical products and services to government and commercial customers worldwide.”

Thomson Reuters, a global information services company, employs about 60,000 people worldwide and operates in more than 100 countries. It is headquartered in New York, but has major operations in London and in Eagan, Minn.

The news of the deal seemed to have little impact on Thomson Reuters' stock price. The company's stock (TRI) opened at $28.65 per share this morning on the New York Stock Exchange and was sitting $28.45 just before 2 p.m.