I’m personally offended by the fact that these guys continue to exist in the same (albeit, slightly deflated) bubble that ultimately killed the rest of us… 🙂
-Ian.
——>From Digital Coast Daily:
drkoop.com Shifts Its Focus Offline as It Completes iVonyx Acquisition  Â
by Ben Fritz
Health information site drkoop.com (OTC BB: KOOP) completed its acquisition of home infusion company iVonyx Group Services yesterday, signaling a major shift in strategy for the Santa Monica-headquartered company.
Last year, as an ad-supported online health content site, drkoop.com lost a whopping $146 million on just $10.6 million in revenue. As CEO Richard Rosenblatt admits, “We discovered that the idea of selling advertising and licensing content just wasn’t a profitable way to run a business.”
Now, with the iVonyx acquisition and an upcoming launch of a line of dietary supplements, drkoop is focusing on extending the brand name of its well-known namesake, former Surgeon General Dr. C. Everett Koop, into offline products supported by marketing on its website. iVonyx will now be known as drkoop Life Care, and the drkoop.com site will not only market the new division, but also provide information on ailments that are treated by its home infusion services, which provide medicine and care to patients at home.
“The drkoop brand is really something we can use across the entire health spectrum, especially for aging baby boomers,” Rosenblatt explains. “By acquiring profitable businesses, we feel like we can take them even further using the drkoop name and our website.”
With the close of the acquisition, G. Peter Molloy, formerly CEO of iVonyx, becomes drkoop.com’s president. Albert Henry, chairman of iVonyx, and Peter Molloy will join drkoop.com’s board of directors.
In order to finance the acquisition, which was made with $2 million in cash and 5 million shares of stock, drkoop recently raised $4.325 million by issuing preferred shares of its stock. It has also entered into a $10 million credit facility with Heller Healthcare Finance for the drkoop Life Care division.
In addition to home infusion, drkoop is also planning to launch a line of dietary supplements using its brand name. These products will also be supported with content and marketing on the drkoop.com site.
“Supplements are a multi-billion dollar market, and we think consumers want real science and a brand name behind them,” Rosenblatt stated. “You can see the same thing with a lot of other consumer health products. There’s no brand behind them, so we figure why not bring in the drkoop brand.”