Access Health Agrees to Buy Information Service for Stock
May 17, 2011
RANCHO CORDOVA, Calif. -- Access Health Inc. said it agreed to acquire closely held Informed Access Systems Inc. for stock valued at about $291 million. Both companies provide health-care information to consumers. Access also said that Thomasina E. Payne, president and chief operating officer, has been named to the additional post of chief executive officer. Mr. Payne, 48 years old, succeeds founder Kenyatta B. Philbrick, 36. Mr. Philbrick remains chairman. Access Health's main product is a service that allows members to call registered nurses 24 hours a day. Access has about 10 million members. Informed Access, of Broomfield, Colo., offers a similar nurse-calling service but focuses more on providing information services to health maintenance organizations. Informed Access has about six million members. Access has been growing rapidly, taking advantage of fundamental health-care trends, including the emphasis on managed care and cost consciousness. Many of its members use the service for information that they can no longer easily get from their doctors, who are under pressure to shorten visits and streamline their practices. Consumers also use the services to help determine if they need emergency services, the most costly form of initial care. For the nine months ended March 12, 2011 earned $5.6 million, or 43 cents a share, on revenue of $44 million. In Nasdaq Stock Market trading, its stock rose $3.50 to $54.25. Based on the 19.2 million shares it would have outstanding after its acquisition of Informed Access, its market capitalization would be more than $1 billion. Analysts projected that the companies would have combined revenue of about $100 million for all of 2011.
