Kai Innovations acquired by Well Health for $10.75 million

Healthtech

Kai Innovations, a Toronto-based SaaS company looking to shift health information to electronic medical records (EMR), has been acquired by Vancouver-based Well Health Technologies for approximately $10.75 million.

“Kai has a solid history of leading innovation while supporting the OSCAR community.”

Well said the acquisition of Kai will significantly expand its digital health portfolio and will boost Well’s recurring SaaS revenue. With the acquisition of Kai and last week’s announcement of it’s acquisition of OSCARPrn, Well said it will increase its EMR services to support 852 clinics across Canada.

Founded in 2012, Kai has the third largest EMR user base in Ontario and is the largest provider of Open Source Clinical Application Resource (OSCAR) services to healthcare clinics in the country, including the founding OSCAR clinic at McMaster University. OSCAR is an open-source EMR software that was initially developed for academic primary care clinics.

“This is a major event for us and the industry, and to our knowledge positions Well as the third largest EMR services vendor in Canada,” said Hamed Shahbazi, chairman and CEO of Well Health. “We couldn’t be more thrilled to have Arjun [Kumar, Kai’s CEO], Sara [Bond, COO], and the Kai team join the Well family and drive Well’s rapidly expanding OSCAR EMR portfolio. Kai has a solid history of leading innovation while supporting the OSCAR community.”

The acquisition of Kai consists of $6 million paid in cash upon closing of the deal, $2 million, which Well said will be “paid in the capital of Well shares,” and cash payments of $2.75 million to be paid in the first year after closing. Well said it will also pay a conditional earn-out based on Kai’s overall operating performance of up to $7 million, and that the acquisition will be financed with cash on hand and the private placement financing.

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Kai provides OSCAR EMR services to approximately 560 medical clinics, supporting over 2,100 registered practitioners, and over 10 million patients in Ontario. Kai generated approximately $3.5 million of revenues over the past year, mostly in recurring SaaS revenues. In 2016, Kai acquired Ottawa-based Trimara Corporation, which also created EMR solutions for Ontario-based physicians.

Kai has also developed patient engagement applications such as an online booking system and self-service check-in, which Well said contributed to the company’s strong IP portfolio. Upon closing, Kai’s CEO, Kumar, will become Well’s chief information officer, while Kai’s chief operating officer, Bond, will join Well’s management team as the senior vice president of product development.

“The opportunity to join forces with such a phenomenal team with a proven track record at Well is a perfect fit for our company,” said Kumar. “Together we will have a strong presence in the Canadian healthcare system”.

Image courtesy Pixabay

Isabelle Kirkwood

Isabelle Kirkwood

Isabelle is a Vancouver-based writer with 5+ years of experience in communications and journalism and a lifelong passion for telling stories. For over two years, she has reported on all sides of the Canadian startup ecosystem, from landmark venture deals to public policy, telling the stories of the founders putting Canadian tech on the map.

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