To: Michael Olds who wrote (304) | 10/12/2001 5:25:00 PM | From: tech101 | | | Quintiles and WebMD Announce Settlement Agreement
RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. and ELMWOOD PARK, N.J., Oct. 12
PRNewswire/
Quintiles Transnational Corp. (Nasdaq: QTRN - news) and WebMD Corporation (Nasdaq: HLTH - news) today mutually announced the settlement of the litigation between the companies and the resolution of their disputes. Under the terms of the settlement, the companies agreed to terminate all of their business agreements, including their Data Rights and Internet Product Development and Marketing agreements, and WebMD agreed to purchase from Quintiles for $185 million in cash all 35 million shares of WebMD common stock held by Quintiles.
Pursuant to the court order, Quintiles will continue to receive de- identified data from WebMD until Feb. 28, 2002. Following that date, WebMD and Envoy will have no further obligation to provide any data to Quintiles. Quintiles will have no continuing obligation to share operating income or to fund product development.
As part of the financial terms, Quintiles will also have the right to receive a contingent payment (payable at WebMD's option in cash and/or stock) in the event that, on or before June 30, 2004, WebMD is acquired at a price per WebMD share greater than $4.00 or Envoy is sold at an aggregate price of greater than $500 million. WebMD has no obligation to pursue either of these transactions under this arrangement and has indicated that it has no intention of doing so.
In the case of the execution of a definitive agreement related to an acquisition of WebMD before June 30, 2003, the contingent payment to Quintiles will equal the amount by which the price paid exceeds $4.00 per share, multiplied by 35 million. If an acquisition is agreed to after June 30, 2003, and closes before June 30, 2004, the contingent payment will be 80% of that amount.
In the case of the execution of a definitive agreement related to a sale of Envoy before June 30, 2003, the contingent payment to Quintiles will equal 10% of the amount by which the sale price exceeds $500 million. If a sale is agreed to after June 30, 2003, and closes before June 30, 2004, the contingent payment will be 80% of that amount.
In a joint statement, Quintiles Chairman Dennis Gillings, Ph.D., and Martin J. Wygod, Chairman of the Board of WebMD, said: ``We recognize that the discussions over the past several months have been difficult and the issues complex, but we're both pleased with the outcome. We believe that this agreement, which allows each company to pursue its own strategy, is to the mutual benefit of both companies.'' |
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To: tech101 who wrote (305) | 10/13/2001 9:43:48 AM | From: Michael Olds | | | Yes, once again this great poker player has pulled off a stunning hand.
I will confess that for months now I have been cursing myself for getting into this too early; but here is the virtue of that...by Monday the bottom will be behind us.
A couple of years before we can sell seems to bother some people, but MEDCO was several years in the growing before it was sold. My thinking is that this is a non issue, that it would not be sold anyway.
Now it seems that the game is to keep the price under $10 until after the new year, but I think that the battering early buyers have taken in the last year is likely to be a source of selling for a good while...there is resistance every $0.20 all the way to $10.00. |
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To: Michael Olds who wrote (306) | 10/13/2001 11:27:17 AM | From: Sr K | | | They paid $5.285 per share and gave 100% protection (and later 80%) above $4.00 per share to 2003. And in doing so used $185 m of cash.
"this great poker player has pulled off a stunning hand"
What does that mean? It looks like there is no resistance on the downside, and at every temporary level, there is resistance 20 to 60 cents higher. WebMD has given up a card (cash) and seems weaker after this deal. |
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To: Sr K who wrote (308) | 10/13/2001 12:42:55 PM | From: Michael Olds | | | David and Sr:
On the 10th in a matter of less than 30 minutes 120,000 shares moved the market from 3.41 to 3.94.
Last night, after hours, about 1000 shares moved the market from 3.45 to 4.00.
I suggest that a buy of 35,000,000 shares at $5.28 was a coup.
I am thinking that the factors keeping down the price at this point are:
1. The overhang. Estimated at the last CC to be something like 70,000,000 shares including the Quintiles shares.
2. The lawsuit between Quintiles and WebMd. A. Partily for purely psychological reasons..."I'm bigger than you are." B. Partly for the control of the data C. Partly for the expense 3. The fact that this is tax selling season in a bad year.
Otherwise the positives are very compelling:
A. First and Formost MW and team with a very strong track record B. Cash and no debt C. A good product and a new product which is by all reports going to be well received D. The turn around to profitability is still on schedule for Q4
And should have been reflected in a higher price than the current one except for the very negative market which is almost as pessimistic here as it was optimistic a couple of years ago.
So I believe the ...what is the term Soros uses? Inflection Point...occured Friday with the announcement of the settlement which removes what looked to me like the worst dark cloud.
And, oh yes, I believe I answered the argument about the guarantees in my previous. I seriously doubt selling this company before it was highly profitable, with the stock price very much higher than this, after at least one split, and at a huge premium would have occured before a few more years in any case. Just my impression of the way MW handled MEDCO, and was handling SNTC before the sale of MEDCO changed the nature of what SNTC was going to be. |
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To: Michael Olds who wrote (309) | 10/13/2001 3:25:32 PM | From: Sr K | | | B. Cash and no debt C. A good product and a new product which is by all reports going to be well received
How much cash do you estimate they have after paying the $185 m? Is the wireless product still on track, or which new product are you referring to? |
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To: Sr K who wrote (310) | 10/13/2001 5:47:28 PM | From: Michael Olds | | | Not an exact amount but some where around 500 million (@$2.00/share) if you count what they will likely get for Porex.
Yes, I was speaking about the wireless which has a name now ?Utilia or something like that and is due out any day now. Has been out in beta for a while now and apparently is getting good feedback. |
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To: Michael Olds who wrote (306) | 10/15/2001 1:54:07 AM | From: tech101 | | | WebMD Corp.
Improving Prospect Ahead -- Part 1 Ranking -- Accumulate, Long Term Buy
10 August 2001 David R. Risinger, CFA First Vice President Brandon R. Fazio Industry Analyst
HIGHLIGHT
...
We continue to view WebMD as an interesting small to mid cap value situation. We think there is an opportunity for patient investors since the stock is only trading at an enterprise value multiple of 2x current revenue and its assets have the potential to deliver 20%+ operating margins over the longterm. Other leading healthcare IT companies are trading at 4x revenue.
...
From Marrill Lynch Research Report
The Research Reports are free for 30 days trial at
research.askmerrill.ml.com |
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To: Michael Olds who wrote (311) | 10/15/2001 2:10:07 PM | From: tech101 | | | The settlement with Quintiles is certainly mutual beneficial.
However, the agreement probably means hundred million dollars, even billions of dollars (just look at MEDCO)for WebMD.
The result of this battle and how it was handled also shows that Wygod is indeed the strongman in the tough healthcare business and he knows how to play with it, which gives a lot of confidence to the stock. |
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