Copyright 1999 St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Inc.
St.
Louis Post-Dispatch
September 1, 1999, Wednesday, FIVE STAR LIFT
EDITION
SECTION: BUSINESS, Pg. C1
LENGTH: 322 words
HEADLINE:
EXPRESS SCRIPTS MERGES ONLINE BUSINESS;
PLANETRX IS A MUCH MORE SEASONED
CYBER COMPETITOR
BYLINE: Judith VandeWater; Of The
Post-Dispatch
BODY:
Express Scripts Inc.
said Tuesday it will merge its month-old online drug store with a more seasoned
cyber competitor -- the five-month old PlanetRx.com.
Under the
agreement, Express Scripts will transfer the e-commerce assets of its wholly
owned Internet pharmacy subsidiary, yourPharmacy.com, to
Planet.Rx.com, a leading online merchant. Simultaneously, PlanetRx.com, which
offers prescription drugs and health and beauty aids, will make an initial
public stock offering. Express Scripts will receive 19.9 percent of the newly
issued PlanetRx stock.
George Paz, chief financial officer of Express
Scripts, declined to value the stock part of the deal because the public part of
the stock offering has not been priced.
Express Scripts will get an $ 11
million annual contribution from PlanetRx plus a $ 14.50 fee for each individual
Express Scripts member the first time the member makes a purchase from the
PlanetRx site each year.
PlanetRx has also agreed to provide financial
support for five years to develop Express Scripts' Internet capabilities.
Paz said Express Scripts gets the benefit of jump-starting its Internet
sales without taking the significant investment risks that go along with
building an Internet site into a well-known brand and profitable product.
PlanetRx gets a five-year exclusive contract to be the Internet pharmacy
for Express Scripts' 36 million members. Members who buy prescription drugs
through PlanetRx may use the pharmacy discounts provided through their
insurance. PlanetRx has not been able to offer these insurance discounts to
customers prior to the Express Scripts deal.
Express Scripts
announced the deal after the market closed Tuesday.
Earlier this year,
Express Scripts got swept up in the market frenzy over Internet stocks. Its
stock rose 24 percent in one day after it announced it would offer pharmacy
services and drug information over the Internet.
LOAD-DATE: September 1, 1999 
