Greenfield Online has acquired Rapidata.net, a company that enables pharmaceutical market researchers to access health care providers and their patients for marketing research purposes. This deal makes Greenfield Online one of the only survey solutions providers with deep online panel ownership across a broad range of health care provider specialties. Greenfield paid $5.5 million in cash for the acquisition.
Ben Feldman, Rapidata’s chief executive and Jay Mebane, Rapidata’s president, will become vice presidents of Greenfield Online.
Dean Wiltse, Greenfield Online’s president and chief executive stated, “Health care is one of the largest segments of the marketing research industry and represented approximately $4 million of our revenue in 2004. Our acquisition of Rapidata met all of our criteria as the business is immediately accretive and it expands Greenfield Online’s capabilities in this significant target market. This acquisition enables Greenfield Online to become the one stop shop for health care marketing researchers with an expanded health care practitioner panel as well as a very targeted and difficult to reach patient population. We expect these added capabilities will help us accelerate the growth of our health care business segment.”