Wonik Holdings agrees to buy healthcare platform Goodoc

Wonik Holdings shares were tad higher in Tuesday’s morning trade on news that the South Korean gas equipment manufacturer will acquire CareLabs, the operator of the country’s largest health digital platform Goodoc, to diversify its business portfolio. CareLabs shares tumbled on profit taking.

Wonik Holdings said in a regulatory filing on Monday it has agreed to buy a 23.27 percent stake in CareLabs, or 4,238,860 shares, for about 64.6 billion won ($48.5 million). Wonik Holdings is the holding company of Wonik IPS, a first-tier supplier of semiconductor manufacturing equipment for Samsung Electronics.

Wonik Holdings plans to pay 19 billion won upfront in cash by Wednesday and the balance of 45.7 billion won on Jan. 17, 2023 to close the transaction.

CareLabs founded in April 2012 is dedicated to digital marketing business and Goodoc, a smartphone app for search and booking of healthcare professionals and institutions. Goodoc recently surpassed 9 million cumulative downloads with over 1 million cumulative uses in real-time telehealth services.

CareLabs made the deal in a second attempt. Two years ago, the company had progressed M&A talks with potential buyer Maple Investment Partners, but final negotiations broke down due to price differences.