(Bloomberg) -- Veritas Capital and Elliott Investment Management are exploring options for Athenahealth Inc. including a sale or initial public offering, according to people familiar with the matter. 

Veritas and Elliott are aiming for the health information technology company to be valued at more than $20 billion in a transaction, said the people, who asked to not be identified because the matter isn’t public. 

The firms are working with Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Evercore Inc. to help explore options for the company, the people said. The bankers have reached out to about a half dozen potential buyers to gauge their interest, one of the people said.

The two firms hope to complete a deal by the end of the first quarter, one of the people said. A final decision hasn’t been made, though, and the Veritas and Elliott could decide to keep Athenahealth, the people said.

Representatives for Athenahealth, Veritas, Elliott and Goldman Sachs declined to comment. A spokesperson for Evercore didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Veritas and Elliott agreed to buy Athenahealth for about $5.7 billion in 2018. After the deal closed, the company was combined with Virence Health, a health-care services company Veritas had acquired from General Electric Co.

Athenahealth helps doctors and hospitals collect money from health insurers and the government for services they provide. It processes $230 billion in bills a year, according to its website. It also has an electronic health records service that helps providers manage workflow and document patient visits, among other services.

Veritas is also considering an exit from another health technology portfolio company, Cotiviti, Bloomberg News reported in July. The firm hired advisers to help it explore an IPO of the health-care information and analytics company that could value it at more than $15 billion, the people said at the time. 

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