Healtheon/WebMD to Buy OnHealth

Healtheon/WebMD Corp. said it’s buying OnHealth Network Co., a Seattle-based provider of online health news, research and reference guides, for about $313 million in stock, the latest consolidation within the nascent Internet health-information industry. The acquisition furthers Healtheon/WebMD’s campaign to merge all areas of “e-health” into a single, comprehensive site by spending billions to absorb its rivals. On Monday, Atlanta-based Healtheon/WebMD said it would acquire competitor CareInsite Inc. and its parent company in a $5.4-billion stock deal. Online research firm Media Metrix said OnHealth.com was the most visited health care site on the Web in December, with 3.2 million users. Under terms of the latest deal, OnHealth shareholders would receive 0.189435 share of Healtheon/WebMD stock. The deal is expected to be finished by this summer. On Nasdaq, Healtheon/WebMD stock dropped 75 cents to close at $67.88, and OnHealth shares rose $1.47 to close at $11.44.