Dublin-based diversified healthcare services group UDG Healthcare has started putting the money it raised from last year’s sale of its legacy Irish businesses to work by acquiring international auditing firm STEM Marketing for a total consideration of £84m (€94.2m).

Investors in the Irish stock market should favour Irish firms that have less exposure to the UK — until the outcome of the British referendum on membership of the EU is known, Merrion Capital has said in a major report.

The Irish Auditing and Accounting Supervisory Authority (IAASA) has ruled on five listed companies, including Irish Residential Properties, UDG Healthcare, Paddy Power, IFG, and Dragon Oil.

Shares at Dublin-based UDG Healthcare soared as it agreed to sell two units of its business to the parent company of Lloyds Pharmacy for €407.5m in a bid to reshape its structure.

UDG Healthcare hopes to gain “additional visibility” on acquisition targets over the coming months with it relocating its mergers and acquisitions team to the US this summer.

New figures show that three units of Irish-based drug giant UDG Healthcare received payments totalling over €112m from the HSE in 2013.

UDG Healthcare is actively looking at further bolt-on acquisition prospects to boost its contract sales outsourcing business in the US.

Three companies raised a total of €484m on the Irish Stock Exchange last year, as equity transactions increased by 30% over the year as the economy continues to recover.

Irish-based diversified healthcare services group UDG Healthcare will continue its acquisition-led growth strategy, after seeing recent purchases contribute to a bumper set of annual results.

UDG Healthcare has raised more than €80m for deleveraging and further investment purposes through the sale of its share of a UK-based drug distribution business.

UDG Healthcare has expanded the capabilities of its global healthcare communications division via an €18m acquisition of a public relations firm.

UDG Healthcare has significantly upped its earnings forecast for its current financial year, on the back of a strong first-half showing.

Diversified medical services group UDG Healthcare is set to become a global leader in the healthcare communications sector via the purchase of part of UK company, KnowledgePoint360, for more than €100m.

Diversified medical services group UDG Healthcare, headquartered in Dublin, has reached agreement to sell its non-core unlicensed medicines business to an American buyer for nearly €29m.

Global cloud computing and big data leader EMC unveiled an 11% year-on-year rise in fourth-quarter revenues, adding that full-year revenue for 2013 was $23.2bn (€17bn) — 7% ahead of 2012 levels.

Management bonuses at UDG Healthcare were cut by nearly 60% last year, despite the group delivering a strong financial performance.

Diversified healthcare services group UDG Healthcare is confident of maintaining recent growth momentum after delivering figures at the top end of its guidance range for its latest financial year.

Dublin-based international healthcare services group, United Drug will formally change its name to UDG Healthcare by the end of next month, following receipt of shareholder approval for the identity switch yesterday.

United Drug has announced it intends to keep the euro as its reporting currency, despite its shares now being listed in London.

United Drug has reached agreement to buy Spanish company Expansis for a maximum consideration of €12m.

United Drug is planning to rebrand as UDG Healthcare later this year, with the new trading name acting as an umbrella for the group’s growing number of subsidiaries.