Dublin-based Clanwilliam takes control of HealthLink

Dublin based healthcare technology company, the Clanwilliam Group, has taken a majority shareholding in HealthLink, the New –Zealand founded company that provides communications linking the IT systems of more than 15,500 medical organisations across Australia, New Zealand, the Pacific Islands and Canada. 

HealthLink was previously owned 50 percent by the Waterman Capital Group, which made its investment in 2013, and 50 percent by management. Today’s announcement did not spell out details of the new shareholdings. 

Clanwilliam said that Graeme Stretch CEO and Tom Bowden (founder, former CEO and now director of industry relationships at HealthLink) would continue in their current roles and remain as directors and shareholders of the company. 

HealthLink claims to provide a secure system for medical practices to communicate electronically with the rest of the health system and to be the largest provider of clinical messaging services in Australia. It says more than 13,500 healthcare organisations and professionals exchange 100 million plus electronic messages a year via HealthLink and early all the clinical communications used in New Zealand are shared through HealthLink. 

Clanwilliam said the purchase, for an undisclosed amount, brought its investment in Australasia to nearly $NZ70 million so far this year, and included another New Zealand company, pharmacy software provider Toniq. 

Stretch said ClanWilliam’s investment was clear recognition of the importance of the health system integrator’s role in integrating information flows within the modern health system. 

“We have a common belief that information technology can be of great benefit to the delivery of healthcare and can best be achieved by connecting information systems, allowing healthcare providers to automate and streamline their existing processes.” 

He said ClanWilliam’s involvement, and that of its parent company Eli Global, would give HealthLink access to new markets for technology developed and implemented in Australia and New Zealand. 

HealthLink was founded in 1993 as a joint venture between Telecom New Zealand subsidiary Netway Communications and Clearfield Systems, the predecessor of Orion Systems. In 1994, Bowden left Netway purchased its shareholding in HealthLink and set the company up as an independent business. In 2013, Orion Systems sold its shareholding to Waterman Capital in advance of its sharemarket debut.