Thomson Reuters suspends efforts to sell Ann Arbor-based health care division

Thomson Reuters' health care division is based at the former 777 building on Eisenhower Parkway.

File photo | AnnArbor.com

The company's health care business employs between 800 and 900 workers at the former 777 building on Eisenhower Parkway. Its tax and accounting operation in Dexter, which was not part of the sale efforts, employs about 1,000.

In a press release this morning, Thomson Reuters said it would continue to operate and grow its health care division for now.

The company had announced in June that it wanted to sell the division by the end of the year, sparking speculation that it had already lined up a prospective buyer.

In September, reports emerged that India information technology firm InfoSys was close to acquiring the business — but the company denied its interest a month later.

"Since announcing the planned divestiture in June, global economic conditions have become more challenging and the company believes they are not conducive to concluding a transaction that reflects the fair value of the Healthcare business at this time," Thomson Reuters said today in a statement. "Thomson Reuters is committed to continuing to invest in and grow the Healthcare business until improved market conditions allow the company to complete a divestiture at attractive terms."

Thomson Reuters' $450 million health care and science unit reported 7 percent revenue growth in 2010, compared to 4 percent overall sales growth for the entire corporation. The health care division offers a variety of services, including analyzing health care costs and trends and consulting to help health care systems and insurers cut costs.

Thomson Reuters CEO Thomas H. Glocer said in a statement in 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.

Today, the company said the division "continues to perform well with strong revenue growth and expanding margins."

The health care unit will be integrated into the company's "other businesses" for the purposes of its financial reporting.

Contact AnnArbor.com's Nathan Bomey at (734) 623-2587 or nathanbomey@annarbor.com. You can also follow him on Twitter or subscribe to AnnArbor.com's newsletters.