AOL to Give Drkoop.com a Shot in the Arm

Drkoop.com, the Internet health-care site led by former Surgeon General C. Everett Koop, agreed to pay $89 million to form an alliance with America Online Inc., the dominant provider of Internet access. The four-year agreement gives AOL a link to a widely respected name in medicine and an opportunity to buy stock in one of the most popular Web health sites. The deal gives Drkoop.com a chance to build up advertising and electronic sales to AOL’s millions of users. The deal is not exclusive; Drkoop.com also is found on Go Network, partly owned by Walt Disney Co. Investors cheered the announcement. Shares of Drkoop.com, which began trading early last month, jumped $13.25, or 56%, to close at $36.88 on Nasdaq. AOL was up $5.69 to close at $120.94 on the New York Stock Exchange. Koop holds a 7% stake in the company.