Settlement Imposes No Financial Penalties on Company
MILWAUKEE--(Business Wire)--
Merge Healthcare (NASDAQ: MRGE), a health IT solutions provider, today announced
its settlement with the SEC of the multi-year investigation into the conduct of
two former company executives, and the circumstances which led to a restatement
in 2006 of the company`s 2002 through 2005 financial statements. This
investigation ran concurrent with two shareholder lawsuits, which were resolved
in 2008.
The complaint, filed by the SEC in federal court today, charged Merge with
record-keeping violations, and charged two of the company`s former executives
with accounting fraud. In resolving this matter, the SEC decided not to charge
the company with fraud nor assess any penalty against the company for the
actions of its former executives. This outcome is in alignment with Merge`s
expectations, as previously disclosed.
"Merge Healthcare is glad to see that the SEC considered the facts and
circumstances, as well as Merge`s cooperation, in reaching this resolution,"
says Justin Dearborn, Merge CEO. "This has been a long and difficult process for
the company, even though these issues happened several years ago. Employees,
customers and shareholders all welcome the closing of this chapter of Merge`s
history."
Merge Healthcare develops software solutions that automate healthcare data and
diagnostic workflow to create a more comprehensive electronic record of the
patient experience. Merge products, ranging from standards-based development
toolkits to fully integrated clinical applications, have been used by healthcare
providers worldwide for over 20 years. Additional information can be found at
www.merge.com.
Merge Healthcare
Media Contact:
Julie Pekarek
Chief Marketing Officer
414.977.4254
jpekarek@merge.com
Copyright Business Wire 2009
