BELFAST, ME – Another member of the Bush family is coming to Maine. athenahealth, a Watertown, Mass.-based provider of Internet-based business services for physician practices, has announced plans to purchase 130,000 square feet of office space in Belfast, along Maine’s Downeast coast.
The company’s chairman and CEO is Jonathan J. Bush, Jr., a first cousin to President George Bush, whose family owns an estate on Walkers Point in Kennebunkport, about two hours to the south.
“athenahealth could not be happier in our expansion to Maine,” said Jonathan Bush, who owns a summer home in Maine as well. “Given athenahealth’s continued growth and demand for our unique service-based offerings to medical groups, we anticipate creating hundreds of new jobs in the region in the years to come as we look to better support our growing national network of physician clients.”
The company made a substantial splash in September when an initial public offering of common stock opened at $18 a share and increased 97 percent, to $35.50, on the first day. The company’s stock is now trading at between $42 and $43 a share.
Founded 10 years ago by Bush and Todd Park, the company began as an OB/GYN clinic called Athena Healthcare, then morphed into its current form when billing and insurance issues led the pair to create the technology for clinical bill management. With a portfolio of Web-based practice management and electronic medical record software, the company charges its clients between 2 percent and 8 percent of their revenue and has roughly 10,500 customers, with a contract renewal rate of about 97 percent.
With rivals that include General Electric, McKesson and Siemens, athenahealth is a small fish in a big pond, but one that hopes to grow bigger. Company officials have reported increased revenues by about 30 percent each year, and paced by September’s IPO, the company reported a $500,000 profit on revenues of $26.2 million for the third quarter of this year, which ended Sept. 30 – a far cry from the $2 million net loss reported last year.
The company plans to close the $6.1 million deal by Feb. 16, 2008 and employ 100 at the site within the first year and about 600 in five years. This will be the company’s second location.