NEW YORK – Thomson Reuters plans to sell off its healthcare division, the company announced Monday.

The healthcare division, part of Thomson Reuters’ Health and Science segment, provides data, analytics and performance benchmarking solutions and services to companies, government agencies and healthcare professionals. Its leading products include MarketScan, Advantage Suite, Micromedex, CareDiscovery and ActionO.

In 2010, the division had revenues of approximately $450 million and an operating margin comparable to the company’s consolidated margin of 19.3 percent.

Once the division is sold, the company will combine its Intellectual Property and Science businesses into a single operating unit of the Professional division.

No material impact is expected to the company’s previously announced 2011 outlook. The company expects the divestiture to close before the end of the year. Morgan Stanley and Allen & Company are acting as financial advisors.

“Thomson Reuters has strong positions in our chosen markets and we believe we will achieve better all-in returns for our shareholders by divesting the healthcare business and re-deploying the proceeds in our core franchises,” said Thomas Glocer, the company's chief executive officer, in a statement. “We have leading positions in global markets, including legal, tax and accounting, science and intellectual property, financial services and media, where we see significant opportunities for future growth and profitability."

"While a growing and profitable unit, our healthcare business lacks the integration with and global scale of our other units, and our disciplined approach to capital allocation convinced us that the expected proceeds from a sale into a consolidating market could be better applied elsewhere in our portfolio,” he added.