WebMD is a well-known and dependable source of information on the internet when it comes to medical terminologies and data. On Monday, July 24, the company announced that it was being acquired by Internet Brands, which is owned by KKR, for $66.50 per share or $2.8 billion. A previous report published during the past weekend had claimed that the deal was in the cards. Internet Brands controls several of the B2B and B2C websites in different sectors, such as automotive, health, legal, travel, and home.
WebMD and Medscape acquired by Internet Brands
The medical information database was for sale for quite some time. Many companies placed their bids on the service after which Internet Brands finally closed down on the deal. During the bidding procedure, almost 100 different bids were placed on the website.
WebMD is one of the world’s first online medical repositories, which assisted people when it came to medical information. It was founded back in 1996, but the company went public in 2005. WebMD offered all of its information for free. Internet Brands also serves to bring traffic to various sites, most of which will be monetized through an advertising system. However, under the new owners, the WebMD database will be updated to make it easier for consumers to find healthcare, while at the same time it will assist businesses to reach interested consumers.
WebMD is a hugely popular website and is the only medical company to be listed in the Top 50 websites in ComScore's June issue. In that list, it was ranked 36 with 71.7 million visitors on the site in the month. WebMD officials claimed that the deal with the KKR-owned company would ensure that it will be popularized in various parts of the world where it did not make an impact yet.
Internet Brands claimed that the health vertical properties have been very popular both in B2B and B2C sectors. It further revealed that over the years millions of consumers and 50,000 healthcare professionals had at one point or another sought the help of its products, even paying for their assistance. Steven L. Zatz, CEO of WebMD expressed his sincere gratitude for the staff working at the company after the deal was announced and said that he expected that this merger will produce increased benefits for consumers, healthcare participants, employees of WebMD and even participating health plan subscribers.
Other companies competing with WebMD
WebMD has had to compete with some major companies which started launching medical repositories as well. Google was one of the companies which tried to tread on the WebMD’s lawns when it began posting health information in its search app. MedicineNet and Everyday Health are also some other companies which tried moving into WebMD’s market.
