Dutch information services conglomerate VNU said it is buying US healthcare data provider IMS health for $6.93 billion. The Connecticut-based IMS has a dominant position in monitoring sales in the pharmaceutical industry. The company's sales in 2004 were approximately $1.6 billion. VNU, which is based in Haarlem, the Netherlands, already owns Nielsen Media Research, the television ratings service, and AC Nielsen, which tracks retail sales in the US.
- see this story from the Associated Press