Press release: NetDoktor secures €5M financing round
Robust business model bucks perilous market trends to reach
profitability
(Copenhagen, 21 March 2001) - NetDoktor, the #1-ranked
pan-European internet healthcare company and parent company to the
UK-based NetDoctor.co.uk, has secured a €5M financing round led by
venture capital fund company Apax Europe IV, advised by Apax Partners
& Co. The funding will see NetDoktor well past its goal of break-even
by close of 2001 and reflects the company’s success in securing
partnerships with an array of blue-chip companies in the competitive and
rapidly-evolving internet health market.
NetDoktor has received this latest cash-injection on the basis of a
robust business model and an organizational restructure that will
streamline the operation, and place greater emphasis on the company’s
most profitable activities – content syndication and development of
third-party health management solutions.
UK-based NetDoktor Chief Executive, Jim Donohue says: “This has been
a successful funding round. It reflects our ability to attract blue-chip
customers and also a determination to face the facts, and take those
strategic and operational measures that will secure our future success.
There will be some staff losses, a hard but necessary decision that will
help to ensure the company achieves its goals. Our focus is to continue
developing and expanding our core content and technology licensing
business throughout Europe, and to retain the core values of reliability
and credibility that have helped us thus far.”
Karen Hitschke, Investment Manager of Apax Partners & Co Germany
and Board member at NetDoktor says: “NetDoktor has consistently
performed according to its plans and has used the past investments wisely
to create a strong basis for the company. This funding round is testament
to the management capabilities. We are confident that NetDoktor’s
business model and clear strategic focus will enable the company to
benefit from the current positive trends in the healthcare and media
market despite the difficult financial markets”
About NetDoktor
NetDoktor is Europe’s leading provider of Internet healthcare
solutions to the European healthcare industry. It operates in nine
countries, running the leading consumer health websites in Denmark,
Germany, Sweden and the UK (www.netdoctor.co.uk), with new operations
recently established in Spain, France and Italy. The company works with an
international network of more than 600 health professionals to create and
update high-quality online health and medical information which is
provided free to the public and licensed to blue-chip corporate clients
including Novartis, Alliance Unichem, T-Online and Germany’s largest
private health insurer DKV.
About Apax Partners
Apax Partners is one of the world's leading private equity investment
groups. It pursues a balanced equity portfolio strategy, investing in
companies at all stages of development from start-up to buy-out. Apax
Partners invests in companies across its 6 chosen global growth sectors
of: telecommunications; information technology; media; financial services;
healthcare and retail/consumer products. The firm has 160 investment
professionals operating in ten countries across Europe, Israel, the United
States and Japan. The group has investments in over 330 companies
world-wide, with a seat on the board of almost every company. Apax
Partners manages and advises over Euro 12 billion on behalf of leading
institutional investors around the world. For more information please
visit www.apax.com
For further information, please contact:
NetDoktor: Jon Cope at Jo Spink PR Tel: 0207 978 4115 Fax: 0207 978
5530
Apax Partners: Karen Hitschke Tel: + 49 89 99 89 09 21 Fax: + 49 89 99
89 09 23
(Original
Press Release)
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