Royal Philips Electronics will acquire healthcare IT vendor Visicu in a $430 million deal, Philips announced today.

The purchase is a step towards Philips' goal of expanding its healthcare business. The Dutch firm bought Boca Raton, Fla.-based Emergin, a medical software provider, in early December.

Baltimore-based Visicu supplies medical services and systems for hospitals' intensive care units. The transaction includes $130 million cash representing an enterprise value of $300 million, or $12 per share, of Visicu, Philips said in a release.

"Philips is a market leader in patient monitoring systems in the hospital, so we know the challenges our customers face - rising patient numbers, staff shortages and concerns about patient safety," Steve Rusckowski, chief executive of Philips' Healthcare division, said in a release. "By investing in clinical IT solutions like those offered by Visicu and Emergin, we believe we can offer customers more attractive patient monitoring solutions that improve hospital productivity as well as patient outcomes."

Visicu's signature product is the eICU Program, which tracks ICU patients and provides monitoring of vital information. The tool also sends triggered "Smart Alerts" to clinicians treating the patients.

"Making these investments we believe will drive further growth in our patient monitoring business," Rusckowski added.

"Philips could leverage its extensive sales network for Visicu's products to boost its profitability and revenues," SNS Securities analyst Victor Bareno told Reuters. Bareno noted that Philips is paying an estimated 30 times EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax depreciation and amortization) for Visicu.

 The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2008.