Snap, Xoom Sign $75M Deal With Medical Site

Snap.com and Xoom.com announced today that they have signed a three-year, $75 million (US$) agreement with Healthgate Data Corp., a health and medical resource site.

The companies say that the deal will make HealthGate the primary anchor tenant in seven co-branded centers within Snap’s Health Channel and calls for Xoom to offerco-branded e-commerce offers to HealthGate members who sign up for the company’s content on Snap.

Proposed Merger

Snap.com is scheduled to merge with Xoom.com and several of NBC’s online assets — including NBC.com — to create NBC Internet, a new public company. Snap.com will be the anchor site for the online network, which will integrate portal, e-commerce and community services. The new venture will be heavily promoted on NBC television.

The new deal is subject to approval by Xoom.com’s shareholders. Xoom.com announced Tuesday that it has scheduled a stockholders’ meeting on November 24th for its investors to vote on the proposed transaction.

“This $75 million deal demonstrates the value Snap.com and Xoom.com can bring to Internet companies looking to match quality content and services with a mass audience both on-air and online,” said NBCi President Edmond Sanctis.

On Screens Everywhere

HealthGate, based in Burlington, Massachusetts, has developed libraries consisting of over 300 different content sources and 27 million pages. It distributes its content through its own Web site and develops co-branded Web sites for hospitals and other clients.

With this deal, the company should soon trigger some name recognition. NBCi is slated to be the one of the first publicly traded online ventures by a network and the length of its reach across television screens and computer monitors will be impressive.

NBC will own 49 percent of the venture, and 53 percent if it converts a debt instrument. Xoom shareholders will receive 34 percent and CNET and Snap option holders are entitled to a 13 percent stake.

The company’s incoming CEO, Chris Kitze, said last month that NBCi expects to be publicly traded sometime this month and will do so under Xoom’s existing shares.

San Francisco, California-based Snap and Xoom deliver some 18 million members combined, roughly half through Snap’s portal doors and the other half though Xoom’s free Web page building, e-mail, greeting cards and downloadable software site.

The companies say that the new NBCi will be the Web’s 7th largest site. NBC said its MSNBC 50/50 joint venture with Microsoft will not factor into the NBCi equation.