Jul 24, 2017

KKR buying WebMD for $2.8 billion

Dan Primack

Private equity giant KKR today announced that it will acquire health information site WebMD for around $2.8 billion (including debt), or $66.50 per share. That would represent a 20.5% premium to Friday's closing price, although it's nearly flat from where WebMD was trading 15 months ago. Large sellers would include BlackRock and Blue Harbour Capital, an activist investment firm founded by onetime KKR partner Clifton Robbins. KKR plans to merge WebMD with existing portfolio company Internet Brands.

  • Why it matters: This deal reflects how the torturous federal debate over healthcare policy — including drug pricing — has caused pharma companies to pull back on advertising. WebMD formally launched the auction in February, saying that it anticipated a significant revenue slowdown.
  • Bottom line: "WebMD, which was founded in 1996 and primarily offers articles on health and healthcare, generated $705m in revenues last year. Almost 80 per cent of its sales were derived from advertising and sponsorship, with the bulk coming from the pharmaceuticals, biotechnology and medical device industries." –Adam Samson, FT

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World coronavirus updates: Italy becomes 2nd country to exceed 100,000 cases

Data: The Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins, the CDC, and China's Health Ministry. Note: China numbers are for the mainland only and U.S. numbers include repatriated citizens and confirmed plus presumptive cases from the CDC

Spain and Italy extended lockdown deadlines on Monday, as Italy became the second country in the world to surpass 100,000 confirmed coronavirus cases.

The big picture: COVID-19 cases surged past 755,000 and the death toll topped 36,000 by Monday, per Johns Hopkins data. Italy reported more than 11,500 total deaths.

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Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

  1. Global: Total confirmed cases as of 1 p.m. ET: 745,308 — Total deaths: 35,307 — Total recoveries: 156,875.
  2. U.S.: Leads the world in confirmed cases. Total confirmed cases as of 1 p.m. ET: 143,672 — Total deaths: 2,575 — Total recoveries: 4,865.
  3. Federal government latest: The White House will extend its social distancing guidelines until April 30 — Hospital ship the USNS Comfort arrives in Manhattan.
  4. Business latest: Macy's will furlough the majority of it's workers this week, as the chain's stores remain closed.
  5. World updates: Spain and Italy extend lockdown deadlines while Italy becomes second country to surpass 100,000 confirmed cases.
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  7. What should I do? Answers about the virus from Axios experts — What to know about social distancing — Q&A: Minimizing your coronavirus risk
  8. Other resources: CDC on how to avoid the virus, what to do if you get it.

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U.S. coronavirus updates: Majority of governors order residents to stay home

Data: The Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins; Map: Andrew Witherspoon/Axios

At least 29 state governors have ordered their residents to stay home to promote social distancing and limit community spread from the coronavirus pandemic as the U.S. copes with more than 144,000 positive cases — more than any other country in the world, per Johns Hopkins data.

The big picture: COVID-19 killed over 2,500 people in the U.S. by Monday. That's far fewer than in Italy, where over 10,700 people have died — accounting for a third of the global death toll. The number of people who've recovered from the virus in the U.S. exceeded 4,800.

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