Table:
|  |  | Year Ended December 31, |  |  |  |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| (In thousands) | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2019 $ Change from 2018 | 2018 $ Change from 2017 |
| Capital expenditures | $(16,600) | $(31,309) | $(38,759) | $14,709 | $7,450 |
| Capitalized software | (113,836) | (113,308) | (118,241) | (528) | 4,933 |
| Cash paid for business acquisitions, net of cash acquired | (23,443) | (177,233) | (169,823) | 153,790 | (7,410) |
| Cash received from sale of businesses, net | 0 | 807,764 | 0 | (807,764) | 807,764 |
| Purchases of equity securities, other investments and related intangible assets, net | (7,191) | (16,934) | (5,606) | 9,743 | (11,328) |
| Other proceeds from investing activities | 14 | 54 | 215 | (40) | (161) |
| Net cash (used in) provided by investing activities - continuing operations | (161,056) | 469,034 | (332,214) | (630,090) | 801,248 |
| Net cash used in investing activities - discontinued operations | 0 | (221,021) | (80,758) | 221,021 | (140,263) |
| Net cash (used in) provided by investing activities | $(161,056) | $248,013 | $(412,972) | $(409,069) | $660,985 |
Paragraphs:
Investing Cash Flow Activities
Year Ended December 31, 2019 Compared with the Year Ended December 31, 2018
Net cash used in investing activities – continuing operations during the year ended December 31, 2019 resulted from the absence of the sale of businesses compared to prior year. The sale of Netsmart and OneContent produced significant investing cash inflows during 2018, which was partially offset with cash paid for the acquisitions of Practice Fusion and Health Grid. Capital expenditures also decreased in 2019 compared with prior year.
Year Ended December 31, 2018 Compared with the Year Ended December 31, 2017
We had cash inflows from investing activities – continuing operations during the year ended December 31, 2018 compared with cash outflows from investing activities – continuing operations during the year ended December 31, 2017, which was primarily driven by cash proceeds of $567 million from the sale of our investment in Netsmart and $241 million of net cash proceeds from the divestiture of the OneContent business during 2018.
Cash used in investing activities also included the purchase of Practice Fusion and Health Grid, which were mostly offset by lower overall capital expenditures during 2018.
Net cash used in investing activities – discontinued operations increased during the year ended December 31, 2018 compared with the prior year, primarily due to larger business acquisitions completed by Netsmart during 2018.
Question:
What led to Net cash used in investing activities – continuing operations during the year ended December 31, 2019?
Answer: the absence of the sale of businesses compared to prior year