Wednesday 8 May 2013 – Telstra and Seven West Media have agreed to enter into a $10.4 million strategic partnership with HealthEngine, Australia’s leading online consumer health marketplace.
Telstra and Seven West Media will each invest $5.2 million through a combination of cash and value-in- kind to secure a significant stake in the business. HealthEngine is Australia’s largest online health directory and includes appointment booking service Open Appointments. Healthengine.com.au receives more than 450,000 unique visitors each month. To date, the Open Appointments service has offered 600,000 health appointments with more than 2,000 practitioners at 400 health practices across Australia. Patients are able to make appointments 24/7 online or via HealthEngine’s popular mobile app.
Telstra and Seven West Media believe HealthEngine is well-placed to capitalise on the growing demand for healthcare in Australia – a sector that generates annual revenue of more than $100 billion. This demand is highlighted in a recent Roy Morgan survey of Australians over the age of 14 years which found that 27 per cent (or more than five million Australians) had paid for a doctor’s visit in the last four weeks and 35 per cent (or more than six million Australians) considered the internet the most useful source for health-related information. Telstra Media Group Managing Director Rick Ellis said the HealthEngine investment aligned with Telstra’s strategy of developing new growth businesses and providing and growing capability in mHeath and eHealth.
“This investment fits with both our Sensis digital marketing services business and Telstra Health, our new health business unit. HealthEngine will be an important asset as we build capability in this area,” Mr Ellis said. “This new partnership will help HealthEngine accelerate its growth and take a clear leadership position in the market at a time when consumers look to online and mobile booking solutions.”
Seven West Media Group Chief Operating Officer Rohan Lund said the investment aligned with its strategy of building an audience company and investing in adjacent verticals relevant to Seven West Media’s audiences. “We see a tremendous opportunity to partner with Telstra to build Australia’s biggest patient and practitioner marketplace. This is an exciting space and the combination with Telstra and Seven West Media presents a formidable alliance,” Mr Lund said.
HealthEngine CEO Dr Marcus Tan welcomed the investment by Telstra and Seven West Media and said it would enable the company to grow more quickly. “Our current customer focus is GPs and dentists and we have plans to expand into the allied health and medical specialist sectors,” Dr Tan said. “This strategic partnership with Telstra and Seven West Media will position us strongly for growth into the emerging electronic health records, online health transactions and telehealth markets as a leading eHealth business in Australia.”
About Telstra Ventures Telstra Ventures invests in breakthrough companies that are strategically important to Telstra. Its investment strategy is focussed on high growth opportunities that offer technology and solutions which leverage Telstra’s assets and enable Telstra to offer new products and services to its customers. Based in Australia and Silicon Valley, Telstra Ventures works closely with quality entrepreneurs to build significant companies. Telstra Ventures is a corporate venture capital group founded in 2011 as a wholly owned subsidiary of Telstra Corporation.
About Seven West Media Seven West Media is the leading, listed national multi-platform media business based in Australia. Seven West Media comprises Seven Television, the leading free to air capital city television network; Pacific Magazines, the country’s second largest magazine group by readership; Yahoo!7 one of the nation’s most successful internet platforms, as well as Western Australia’s leading newspaper, The West Australian and associated WA regional newspapers and radio stations.
Telstra media contact Scott Whiffin, 0477 350 197 Email: media@team.telstra.com Reference: 92/2013