CBQ, Inc. and 1stinhealth.com to Launch Major eHealth Initiatives
Business Editors
ADDISON, Texas, and HASBROUCK HEIGHTS, N.J.--(BUSINESS
WIRE)--Feb. 11, 2000--
CBQ, Inc. Announces Conclusion of Definitive Agreement to Acquire
1stinhealth.com and 1stinhealthstore.com in a Transaction Valued
at Approximately $80 Million
CBQ, Inc. (OTC BB:CBQI) The E-Business Marketplace announced
today that is has concluded a definitive agreement to acquire
controlling interest of 1stinhealth(R).com. Inc., and
1stinhealthstore.com, Inc.
Agreements with companies, organizations and groups representing
over two million employees/members will be offering the
1stinhealth.com benefit program within the next 90 days.
1stinhealth.com has assembled over 500,000 nationwide health,
nutrition, and fitness providers including 275,000 doctors, hospitals,
and medical professionals, 14,500 retail optical locations, 40,000
alternative medicine providers, 28,000 dentists, 7,000 plastic
surgeons and dermatologists, and tens of thousand of other health,
nutrition and fitness professionals and merchants.
As a part of this agreement CBQ will distribute to these
potential 2,000,000 members its Free Dial Up Internet Access
PriorityLink(R) and will integrate its Prioritycash(R) Internet
Payment service into 1stinhealthstore.com, 1strxplus.com,
starreyes.com, contactstore.com and fitnessbiz.com. CBQ and
1stinhealth.com will aggressively develop and market additional
product offerings like high-speed Internet access, online medical
claims processing, and other e-commerce services to 1stinhealth's
500,000 providers.
"Our launch of the 1stinhealth benefit program will involve over
2,000,000 consumers during the year 2000. The unique Preferred Price
Advantage(R) we offer our card members will reduce their medical
expenditures between 10% and 50% from a providers usual and customary
prices," commented Thomas L. Rosenberg, President, 1stinhealth.com,
Inc. "The current technical infrastructure is capable of issuing and
processing 2,000 cards per day. With the addition of CBQ's technical
expertise, 1stinhealth will be able to expand its marketing
capabilities to issue and process 10,000 cards per day."
"eHealth accounts for one-fifth of the Gross Domestic Product,
and represents a large potential market for CBQ. Through 1stinhealth
we will be able to offer a unique health benefit product that will
supplement all existing insurance plans, and be of particular
assistance to those Americans without health insurance," said John
Harris, CEO, CBQ, Inc. "We see 1stinhealth as a logical extension to
our e-business strategy. This acquisition leverages our strengths in
business to business e-commerce initiatives and presents a great
economic opportunity for CBQ and its shareholders."
For more information about 1stinhealth.com or to signup on the
web, visit www.1stinhealth.com.
About CBQ
CBQ, Inc. The E-Business Marketplace is a total end-to-end
provider for implementing customer driven e-business solutions.
Through its subsidiaries, Reliance Technologies, Inc. and Priority One
Electronic Commerce Corp. it can design, implement, host, build
traffic and process payments for its customer's e-business
initiatives. ChinaSoft, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of CBQ,
Inc., that is a joint-venture partner with CCSoft Technology
Developing, Ltd. (formerly, Beijing Zhongruan Zhixun Technology
Developing Co.) Services include Software Development services for
Enterprise computing, and Internet Development Services. For more
information about CCSoft, visit www.ccsoft.com.cn . China Partners,
Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of CBQ, Inc. Its primary focus is
facilitating trade and investment opportunities between U.S. and
Chinese companies through its trade portal Chinapartners.net.
CBQcare.net, provides a Web-based health care management system
with applications such as practice management software for patient
scheduling, referrals, messaging, charting, insurance claim
generation, prescription and formulary management.
For more information, visit www.cbq.com
This news release includes forward-looking statements related to
CBQ, Inc. that involve risks and uncertainties, including, but not
limited to, quarterly fluctuations in results, the management of
growth, market acceptance of certain products and other risks. These
forward-looking statements are made in reliance on the "safe-harbor"
provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
For further information about these factors that could affect CBQ's
future results, see the company's filings with the Securities and
Exchange Commission (the "Commission"). Prospective investors are
cautioned that forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future
performance. Actual results may differ materially from management
expectations.
--30--na/da*
CONTACT: VGS Marketing Group, Inc.
Valerie Gabriel-Swenson, 972/395-9034
vgs@onramp.net
or
1stinhealth.com
Susan Kaplan, 201/696-4110
or
China Partners, Inc./ChinaSoft/Capital House, LLC
Joan Worden, 202/337-5411 or 202/342-8113
or
CBQ, Inc.
John Harris, 972/732-1100
investors@cbq.com |
