Tampa health tech provider sells for $140 million

TAMPA -- Towers Watson & Co., a Virginia-based global professional services company, acquired software-as-a-service provider Acclaris on Monday for $140 million.

Founded in 2001, Acclaris focuses on consumer-driven health care and reimbursement accounts, including health savings accounts and health reimbursement arrangements, among others.

The account-based health plans Acclaris specializes in -- pairing a health insurance plan with a tax-advantaged spending or reimbursement account like an HSA or HRA -- is a rapidly growing industry, Towers Watson executives say. The company research showed that nearly 50% of employers could offer account-based health plans as their only option by 2017, up from 20% doing so today.