Although the recent news that SXC Health Solutions (SXC) had successfully acquired Catalyst Health Solutions for $4.4 billion dollars caught many by surprise due to the sheer value of the deal, it has been a long-time coming for Canada’s new tech giant.
The firm, one of the first in the world to build and integrate technology used in pharmacy benefit management, was founded in 1993 and went public in 2007. As recently as 2004, the company earned a rather modest $33 million in revenue (not profit). However in the time since then, SXC’s ability to leverage its healthcare related information technology and offer a plethora of useful services has been nothing short of remarkable. The company posted an impressive $1.9 billion in revenues for the 2010 fiscal year and followed that with an even stronger $5 billion figure in fiscal 2011 ($166.4 million in profit).
SXC shows no signs of slowing, acquiring a large competitor in order to further entrench itself in a rapidly growing and highly promising field. As the population demographics of Canada shift and the increased dependence and quality of healthcare for elders becomes a tangible reality, it seems as if SXC is ready for bigger and better things. Many tech experts and media outlets are already citing the company as Canada’s biggest tech success story, replacing RIM which has seen better days. The fact that the company was included in Fortune Magazine’s 100 fastest growing companies of 2011 list is nothing to sneeze at either (an honour RIM achieved in 2009). Expect the firm to become a household name as it continues to grow aggressively and intelligently.