The New York Times reported yesterday that Revolution Health Network is expected to announce sometime today that they will merge with Everyday Health. Looks like a pretty lame marriage, but probably the best that Steve Case’s holding company, Revolution LLC, could get for this online property as it is an ugly bride.
The official PR from Everyday parent, Waterfront Media gushes profusely about how the combined entity will deliver all sorts of value to consumers. Granted, the combined entities, now under the Waterfront Media banner, will be able to offer advertisers 24 different online properties where they can flog their wares on the hapless consumer (hey, someone has to pay for this free advice).
What I found particularly interesting is that Revolution LLC (Steve Case’s holding company) is not so much selling his Network to Waterfront, as he is investing in Waterfront Media. NYTimes puts the value of the deal at $300M. Revolution Health Network is maybe worth a tenth of that amount and Waterfront had revenue of just $50M in 2007. Looks like Steve decided to let someone else run this business, but he will keep an eye on it as he gets a a couple of seats on Waterfront Media’s Board of Directors.
My favorite in all this story though is the quote by Steve in the NYTimes:
“We think we have the wind at our back, and can pass them,” said Steve Case, Revolution’s founder, referring to WebMD. He said the combined company could “really be the new leader in this category, which is a hot category.”
I for one am not holding my breath Steve. That is not to say WebMD isn’t vulnerable, it’s just going to take a lot more than this shotgun wedding to overtake them. And Steve, a little bit of advice: If you don’t know which port you are heading for, any wind will do.
“The Revolution is Over”
“And Steve, a little bit of advice: If you don’t know which port you are heading for, any wind will do.”
John – having followed this space and the Steve “Case Study” in eHealth – all you had to do was put up your title and the last line – pretty much sums up the CASE Revolution. – Cheers –
At times, I have been known to be verbose and this is a good example.
Thanks G