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Why Athenahealth (ATHN) Is a Major Medtech Acquisition Target

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  • (0:40) - Elliot Management Looks To Buyout AthenaHealth
  • (3:30) - Overview of Buyout Offer
  • (6:00) - Jonathan Bush Influence on Healthcare Industry 
  • (11:10) - Episode Roundup: Podcast@Zacks.com

On today’s episode of the Tech Talk Tuesday podcast, Ryan McQueeney discusses Athenahealth , a medical technology company that has found itself the target of an activist takeover from Paul Singer's Elliott Management.

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On Monday, Elliott Management offered to buy Athenahealth in an all-cash deal valued at $160 per share. Elliott's offer represents a 27% premium to Athenahealth's closing price on Friday. The activist firm acknowledged CEO Jonathan Bush, cousin of President George W. Bush, for his cooperation, but described an unwillingness to explore other options for achieving shareholder value.

“Unfortunately, we are faced now with the stark reality that athenahealth as a public-company investment, despite all of its promise, has not worked for many years, is not working today and will not work in the future,” Elliott said in an open letter to the Athenahealth’s board.

Shares of ATHN are down more than 35% from their all-time highs achieved more than four years ago. Meanwhile, Bush has emerged as a polarizing leader in his years of attempting to disrupt the healthcare industry. Still, many believe Athenahealth has a great suite of products and should be worth more than it is.

Ryan digs into all of these topics to highlight why these potential medtech deal should be on your radar! Check out the show to hear more.

As a reminder, if you feel that we missed something, or if you want us to cover a different story, shoot us an email at podcast@zacks.com. Make sure to check out all of our other audio content at zacks.com/podcasts, and remember to subscribe and leave us a rating!

As always, thanks for listening to the Zacks Tech Talk Tuesday Podcast; we will see you next time!

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