IMS Health, which in the last year has been actively making acquisitions leading up to its April IPO, has announced its intention to acquire Paris-based Cegedim’s information solutions and customer relationship management (CRM) business for approximately $520 million in cash.

Cegedim is a global developer of healthcare software, databases and medical research services.

“Cegedim’s complementary offerings will accelerate the build-out of our strategic roadmap in information and technology services,” Ari Bousbib, IMS chairman and CEO, said in a statement. “The global combination of product, technology, infrastructure and people capabilities will bring compelling, integrated solutions to our clients and allow for greater operational efficiency.”

The acquisition comes two months after Danbury, Conn.-based IMS Health raised nearly $1.4 billion in its initial public stock offering—the second largest IPO so far this year.

Last month, IMS Health acquired Forcea, a Belgium-based provider of business intelligence applications and analytics to advance performance management capabilities for hospitals and life science organizations around the world. Financial terms were not disclosed.

“Forcea’s deep technical expertise and hospital-based business intelligence capabilities complement our extensive  information assets and experience in helping clients better analyze data, visualize opportunities and drive measurable performance gains,” said Allistair Grenfell, IMS Health president for North Europe.

The acquired Cegedim assets expand IMS Health’s global reach, as the CRM business helps life sciences clients in 80 countries across multiple channels and mitigates regulatory compliance risks. The deal also includes the One Key Reference Database, which provides insights on 13.7 million healthcare professionals across the globe and information solutions that use primary market research.

Last year, these businesses, which employ 4,500 people spread throughout India, the U.S. and elsewhere who have information and technology skills in software development, data warehousing, mobile applications and business intelligent tools. In 2013, the Cegedim units  generated approximately $573 million in sales, according to IMS Health.

IMS Health said the additional services from Forcea and Cegedim will allow it to further enhance its offerings to clients through IMS One, the company’s intelligent cloud-based platform that provides healthcare data to customers.  

Yesterday, after the Cegedim announcement, IMS Heath shares rose 6.8% to close at $24.78, with more than two million share traded.