Acquires drDrew.com Assets
Drkoop.com, a "leading Internet health network," announced yesterday that it will acquire the assets of drDrew.com, a "leading online lifestyle community for 14- to 24-year-olds." Drkoop.com acquired all drDrew.com assets from Sherwood Partners, Inc., which in return will receive 1.58 million shares of common stock and $150,000. The acquisition will involve some "basic content integration" between the two sites, but both sites will continue operating independently. The acquisition of drDrew.com boosts drkoop.com's base of registered users to more than two million (drkoop.com release, 11/2). DrDrew.com is an "offshoot of a long-running radio call-in program in which Drew Pinsky, medical director for the Department of Chemical Dependency Services at Pasadena's Las Encinas Hospital, answers questions about sex and health" (Kaplan,
Los Angeles Times, 11/3). Drkoop.com President Ed Cespedes said the acquisition "opens the door to additional licensing revenues and provides solutions for our health care provider partners in their efforts to reach teens and young adults. We will continue to seek out undervalued properties such as drDrew.com for potential acquisitions." Dr. C. Everett Koop, former U.S. surgeon general and chairman of drkoop.com, added, "We are now able to deliver pertinent health messages to adolescents and young adults. This is an audience which tends to fall through the cracks of traditional medical messaging." Dr. Drew concurred, "This move joins the most trusted voices for health information on the Internet. Each site is strong in its individual market, but together we will be unbeatable (drkoop.com release, 11/2).