Reuters reports that Hearst has acquired NetDoctor, a UK consumer health website with about 2 million monthly visitors.
NetDoctor launched in February 2000 and now draws about 2 million visitors a month seeking information about topics such as weight loss, diabetes, smoking and health care insurance.
The site is profitable, Edwards said, adding that NatMag plans to drive more traffic to NetDoctor by promoting it in its magazines and to boost advertising sales.
The deal comes the same day media conglomerate NBC Universal, owned by General Electric, announced plans to buy dot-com-boom survivor iVillage Inc., which owns a network of Web sites targeted at women, for $600 million.
New York-based Hearst, which owns newspapers, TV stations and cable networks, has about a 25 percent stake in iVillage, which also hosts Web sites for a number of the publisher's U.S. magazines.
NetMag, a UK magazine division of Hearst, plans to use the health website to cross-promote NetDoctor with NetMag's soon to be relaunched magazine websites.
