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" Healthcare software provider iSoft announced this morning that it is in talks a number of financial investors and corporations about a possible sale of the company. The firm&amp;#039;s share price has fallen in recent months as a result of ongoing problems with its \u00A36.2 billion contract to upgrade the NHS&amp;#039; IT systems. Confirming that it had received &amp;quot;expressions of interest&amp;quot; from various groups about acquiring the company, iSoft chairman John Weston said in a statement: &amp;quot;The board has concluded that shareholders&amp;#039; interests are best served by opening discussions with a number of these parties with the objective of clarifying the options and determining the most appropriate route forward for the company and its shareholders. &amp;quot;These discussions may or may not lead to an offer for the company,&amp;quot; he added. Mr Weston&amp;#039;s statement, which will be delivered to iSoft shareholders at the company&amp;#039;s annual general meeting in Manchester today, revealed that Gleacher Shacklock and Morgan Stanley have been appointed to advise the firm on its &amp;quot;strategic options&amp;quot;. iSoft, which has seen its share price drop by as much as 90 per cent in the past year following a series of problems and profit warnings related to its NHS contract, also announced that it expects to report a decline in revenues for the first half and full year, ending April 30th 2007, of between ten and 15 per cent. The company warned that the cost of new arrangements made with its banks to provide funding for ongoing operations were likely to become &amp;quot;progressively more onerous&amp;quot; during the course of 2007, with the result that iSoft&amp;#039;s board were addressing the funding and strategic options open to the firm. Mr Weston stressed that in the meantime the company had been taking &amp;quot;far-reaching action&amp;quot; to reduce its cost base and enhance profitability. &amp;quot;This action is progressing well and will have some modest beneficial impact on the second half of the year. We look forward to reporting on progress when we announce our interim results,&amp;quot; he said. \u00A9 Adfero Ltd "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/healthy-living/news/a14338/isoft-confirms-takeover-talks/>