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Biotech / Medical : Matria Healthcare (MATR) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Greg Hansen who wrote (148)	7/21/1998 11:17:00 AM
From: W Shakespeare	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 220

Matria Healthcare Announces The Acquisition OfQuality Diagnostic Services And Entry Into The Cardiovascular Market MARIETTA, Ga., July 21 /PRNewswire/ -- MATRIA HEALTHCARE, INC. (Nasdaq: MATR) announced today the acquisition of the assets of Quality Diagnostic Services, Inc. (QDS), a subsidiary of Endeavor Technologies, Inc. QDS, a leading cardiac event monitoring company, recorded 1997 revenues of approximately $7 million, and revenues for the first half of 1998 of $4.7 million. QDS expects revenues for the second half of 1998 to exceed $7 million. The transaction, which closed today, will be slightly accretive in 1998 and is expected to make a significant contribution in 1999. Incorporated in 1996, Endeavor Technologies creates Web-enabled platforms for the healthcare industry. Endeavor Technologies' WebMD is an Internet hub for education, communication, and training for physicians, healthcare professionals, and patients. Simultaneous with the closing, Matria entered into a strategic alliance with Endeavor Technologies in which Matria will be licensed to distribute WebMD. Matria will also develop content for the Women's Health component of WebMD. Donald R. Millard, President and Chief Executive Officer of Matria, commented, "This acquisition is consistent with our strategy to expand our disease management competency beyond the condition of pregnancy. With the acquisition of QDS, Matria will immediately penetrate the cardiovascular market and quickly launch into cardiovascular disease management. QDS's diagnostic telemedicine program is a strategic fit with Matria's core competencies. By linking the remote cardiac monitoring capability of QDS with Matria's expertise in patient assessment, electronic diagnosis and surveillance, therapeutic interventions, case management and outcomes measurement, Matria can immediately become a significant provider in the cardiovascular disease management market." Millard added, "The cardiac event monitoring business requires similar, but less intensive operating resources than maternity management and will allow Matria to leverage its management and corporate staff. Additional synergies will come from Matria's managed care resources, our more than nine hundred payer contracts, to which we will add QDS services, and Matria's national delivery system." Parker H. Petit, Matria Chairman of the Board added, "The market opportunity and demand for disease management providers, especially those with expertise in cardiovascular disease, is very strong. We estimate the overall disease management market to grow to about $6 billion annually with the cardiovascular disease management segment representing about ten percent of that market. Currently, very few firms have the capability to deliver comprehensive programs to this particular industry segment". The acquisition of QDS by Matria gives Endeavor Technologies the resources and operating structure to realize its full potential and now positions Endeavor to focus all of its resources on the development and marketing of WebMD. This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, including developments in the healthcare industry, third- party actions over which the Company does not have control, and regulatory requirements applicable to the Company's business, as well as other risks detailed from time to time in the Company's reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Matria Healthcare, Inc. is the leading disease management provider for the condition of pregnancy and offers comprehensive obstetrical homecare and maternity management services to HMOs, indemnity carriers, and employers. SOURCE Matria Healthcare, Inc. CO: Matria Healthcare, Inc.; Quality Diagnostic Services, Inc.; Endeavor Technologies, Inc. ST: Georgia IN: HEA SU: TNM 07/21/98 10:21 EDT prnewswire.com