Publicly traded VCA Antech is buying MediMedia Animal Health, a unit of MediMedia USA, for $146 million in cash. MediMedia Animal Health, known as Vetstreet, is a provider of online communications, professional education and marketing solutions to the veterinary community. MediMedia USA is a portfolio company of Vestar Capital Partners.
PRESS RELEASE
VCA Antech, Inc. (NASDAQ Global Select Market: WOOF) (“VCA Antech”), a leading animal healthcare company in the United States, and MediMedia USA, Inc. (“MediMedia”), a leading innovative specialty healthcare communications, publishing and medical education company, today announced the signing of a definitive agreement for VCA Antech to acquire MediMedia Animal Health, LLC (“Vetstreet”) from MediMedia for $146 million in cash. Vetstreet, located in Yardley, Pennsylvania, is the nation’s largest provider of online communications, professional education and marketing solutions to the veterinary community and is a subsidiary of MediMedia, a portfolio company of Vestar Capital Partners V, L.P. and certain of its affiliates.
The acquisition is conditioned on the expiration or earlier termination of the waiting period under the Hart-Scott Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, as amended and other customary conditions. Closing is expected between August 2011 and early September 2011.
Bob Antin, Chairman and CEO of VCA Antech, Inc., stated, “We are excited about combining Vetstreet with our existing businesses. We believe that this combination will provide both companies with outstanding growth opportunities. Vetstreet has a history of strong year over year revenue growth including growth of approximately 72% from 2009 to 2010 as well as an estimated growth rate in excess of 50% from 2010 to 2011. Vetstreet’s innovative approach to providing valuable services to both veterinarians and pet owners, combined with our considerable presence in both the animal hospital and diagnostic laboratory businesses, will expand the breadth of our product offerings to the veterinary community.
“The long-term synergies provided by combining Vetstreet with our existing businesses are extremely meaningful to each of our three business segments. Vetstreet’s online communication tools will help increase client visits to the over 16,000 Antech clients, as well as our own animal hospitals, and strengthen the bond between the pet owner and her veterinarian. Vetstreet’s educational services round out the offering to assure that Vetstreet will be the focal point between the pet owner and his or her veterinarian.”
Vetstreet currently offers a highly differentiated suite of products and services to the veterinary community, including:
— VetInsite Analytics provides data and reports to pharmaceutical and
nutritional companies that allow them to track market share at both the
local and national level. In addition, Vetstreet executes direct
marketing programs in conjunction with the veterinarian to grow product
sales and increase traffic to the animal hospital.
— Vetstreet will soon launch a veterinarian-supported consumer portal,
vetstreet.com, providing education, referral and e-commerce support for
the pet owner. Vetstreet’s consumer strategy is grounded in promoting
the relationship between the pet owner and their veterinarian through
direct links to subscribing veterinary practices, including online
communication vehicles that serve to strengthen the connection between
clients and veterinary hospitals.
— Vetstreet Pro, a bundle of communications services for the veterinarian,
promotes the connectivity and bond between the practice and the pet
owner. Over 4,500 practices located in the US and Canada, with over 20
million active clients, currently use Vetstreet Pro, including practice
websites, personalized and secured pet owner portals, automated reminder
cards, automated ID cards and practice analytics to increase client
visits and drive compliance and persistency in a medically appropriate
way.
— For over 30 years, Vetlearn and its predecessors have been the leader in
providing world-class continuing education to animal health
professionals throughout the industry with leading publications such as
Compendium, Veterinary Technician and the recently re-launched
professional education portal Vetlearn.com. Over 50,000 veterinary
professionals have taken part in Vetlearn’s continuing education
programs.
Mr. Antin continued, “Vetstreet’s annual revenues are expected to grow to $55 to $65 million in 2012. The impact on earnings per share is expected to be slightly dilutive (approximately $0.02 to $0.03 per fully diluted share) in the current year and accretive thereafter. I have known and worked with the Vetstreet management team for over 10 years and am excited that the entire team, led by Derrick Kraemer, President, and Jeff Gaidos, Executive Vice President, is expected to continue with Vetstreet following the closing.”
Derrick Kraemer, president of Vetstreet, stated, “For years, veterinary professionals and pet owners have valued VCA Antech’s dedicated leadership in helping pets reach their full potential through quality practice health care and world-class diagnostic services. Vetstreet is excited to join VCA Antech and to continue to serve the veterinary community with our leading turnkey client communication platform (Vetstreet(R)) and our industry leading continuing educational portal (Vetlearn.com(TM)).”
Norm Alpert, Chairman of the MediMedia Management Committee and Managing Director and Co-Founder of Vestar Capital Partners, stated, “We are extremely pleased with this transaction. Vetstreet’s president, Derrick Kraemer, and the rest of the Vetstreet team have done a fantastic job growing their business into the industry leader in veterinary practice communication, education and marketing tools, and this transaction with VCA is a validation of this success.”
Piper Jaffray & Co. served as the exclusive financial advisor to Vetstreet.
About VCA
VCA Antech, Inc. owns, operates and manages the largest networks of freestanding veterinary hospitals and veterinary-exclusive clinical laboratories in the country, and supplies diagnostic imaging equipment to the veterinary industry.
About MediMedia
MediMedia is an integrated content and marketing services provider focused on the healthcare and pharmaceutical industries. The Company operates in two principal divisions: Patient Education and Pharmaceutical Marketing. The Patient Education Group provides comprehensive health management programs and services and patient education content to key healthcare stakeholders, including employers, hospitals, health plans, physicians, patients and pharmaceutical companies. The Pharmaceutical Marketing Group provides a variety of marketing solutions for pharmaceutical companies designed to target physicians and patients. The Company is headquartered in Carlstadt, New Jersey.
About Vestar Capital Partners
Vestar is a leading international private equity firm specializing in management buyouts and growth capital investments with $7 billion in assets under management. The firm targets companies in the U.S. and Europe in five key industry sectors: consumer, diversified industries, healthcare, media/communication, and financial services. Vestar has been particularly active since 2006 with investments in the healthcare information services segment including its investment in MediMedia. Since the firm’s founding in 1988, the Vestar funds have completed more than 67 investments in companies with a total value of more than $30 billion. Vestar has operations in New York, Boston, Denver, Munich, and Paris.
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