Drkoop.com Shares Rise 55% on Merger Offer

Shares of Drkoop.com rose 55% after MillenniumHealth, a closely held Web company, said it offered to acquire the cash-strapped provider of health information on the Internet. Drkoop.com, based in Austin, Texas, said it would consider the proposal. Drkoop.com, co-founded by former U.S. Surgeon General C. Everett Koop, rose 56 cents to $1.59 in Nasdaq trading of 3.9 million shares, almost triple the three-month daily average. The shares closed at their all-time high of $36.88 on July 6, 1999. Reston, Va.-based MillenniumHealth, which provides online news and a marketplace for buying and selling medical products, sent Drkoop.com a letter of intent offering a stock swap. MillenniumHealth spokeswoman Alina Mesenbourg wouldn’t disclose terms of the proposed merger. In April Drkoop.com hired Bear Stearns & Co. to advise it on alternatives, a month after auditors warned it was running out of money.