Misys (LON:MSY), the FTSE 250 IT services group, has unveiled plans to sell the majority of its 54.6% stake in Nasdaq-listed Allscripts and return over US$1bn (£0.7bn) of the proceeds to its shareholders. The move will pave the way for Allscripts to pursue its proposed merger with another Nasdaq-listed group, Eclipsys, and see Misys hang on to 12m of its 80m Allscripts shares. Misys said the sale would raise $1.3bn, and after paying down debt and deal fees would involve an “unprecedented” payout to shareholders. It added that the deal would provide greater visibility of the inherent value in its Banking and Treasury & Capital Markets divisions. Shares in the company soared on the news to 20% to 268.5p.

Misys merged its Healthcare Systems division with Allscripts back in October 2008 and at the time set out to improve quality, reduce errors and lower costs for the American healthcare system. Allscripts is now set to merge with Eclipsys, creating what the Allscripts management believe will be the clear leader in healthcare information technology, with the most comprehensive solution offering for healthcare organisations of every size and setting.

Mike Lawrie, the chief Executive of Misys, said: “The strategy and execution of the merger of Allscripts and Misys Healthcare has been extraordinarily successful. This has been reflected in the rise in the Allscripts-Misys share price since the completion of the merger in October 2008. The success of the merger has created an opportunity for Allscripts to continue its leadership role by merging Allscripts and Eclipsys to create a leader in end to end solutions for US hospitals and physicians. To enable Allscripts to exploit this opportunity, and to allow Misys shareholders to benefit from the rise in the Allscripts share price since the merger, we are reducing our holding in Allscripts.”

Mr Lawrie said that following separation, the group would continue to focus on leadership in its financial services markets, through taking to market innovative software solutions, notably its BankFusion suite, and providing high quality implementation and customer services.

Elsewhere today, Misys announced the appointment of Stephen Wilson as Chief Financial Officer. Mr Wilson joined Misys in May 2009 as Vice President, Group Finance, responsible for Investor Relations, Corporate Development, Tax, Treasury and Internal Audit.

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