Netivation.Com On Buying Spree Acquisitions Boost Firm’S Influence
Netivation.com has been on a growth spurt since going public last June.
The company has bought up nine other companies - five in the past three months of 1999 - and expanded from 30 to 150 employees.
And the growth likely will continue.
“We have an aggressive acquisition strategy,” Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Tony Paquin told analysts during a conference call Thursday. “We’re continuing to see what that could bring.”
Paquin and his brother, Gary, founded Netivation in late 1997. The company provides political and medical products and services on the Internet.
Netivation.com lost $8.6 million, or $1.35 per share, during its first year as a publicly traded company. Company shares, which trade on Nasdaq, closed at $7 per share Thursday.
The stock has ranged from 12-15/16 to 4-1/16 since the initial public offering.
Paquin also announced Thursday that Netivation.com has signed a contract with Yahoo Politics to provide online political news and advertising. The company signed a similar contract with the Microsoft News political channel in January.
“This absolutely establishes us as the major political brand on the Internet,” Paquin said.
People who go to the search engines’ political sites and type in “George W. Bush” or “Al Gore ” will see ads for Netivation.com’s political division, votenet.com, he said.
Votenet.com provides political news, information on federal campaign contributions and political action committees. The division also sells software for political organizations.
MedMarket.com, the company’s medical division, provides an Internet portal used by medical manufacturers and suppliers for product sales. About 110 of Netivation.com’s employees are based in Post Falls, and another 40 are in Washington, D.C.
The Paquin brothers also co-founded Agency One Corp., an insurance software company they later sold. Tony Paquin mounted a primary challenge against U.S. Rep. Helen Chenoweth, R-Idaho, two years ago, before withdrawing from the race.