BELFAST, Maine and WATERTOWN, Mass., Nov. 29, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- athenahealth, Inc. (Nasdaq:ATHN), a leading provider of internet-based business services for physician practices, today announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to purchase an operations facility from Bracebridge Corporate, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Bank of America Corporation. The facility, located in Belfast, Maine, includes more than 130,000 square feet of office space on a 53 acre campus that was formerly owned and operated by MBNA Corp. prior to its acquisition by Bank of America in 2006. The new athenahealth Maine Center will act as athenahealth's second operational service site and is expected to provide additional business continuity capability as the Company looks to expand its growing national physician network. The purchase is expected to be completed on or before February 16, 2008, subject to customary closing conditions.
"athenahealth could not be happier in our expansion to Maine and we look forward to establishing an exciting collaborative relationship with the people of the greater Belfast region," said Jonathan Bush, Chairman and CEO of athenahealth. "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 presence of a leading company like athenahealth confirms that Maine is open for business," said Governor John E. Baldacci. "athenahealth will tap into some of our state's greatest business resources: our successful Pine Tree Zone program and our talented workforce."
athenahealth has received preliminary approval for the State's Pine Tree Development Zone (PTZ) program. Established in 2003, this program offers tax incentives to businesses in targeted industries and specific areas of the state with high unemployment rates.
"We are thrilled that athenahealth, one of the nation's foremost healthcare information technology companies, has selected Belfast for its second operations center," said Belfast Mayor Walter Ash, Jr. "We look forward to the athenahealth Maine Center becoming an integral member of our business community."
athenahealth worked closely with Maine & Company, a private, non-profit corporation committed to bringing businesses to Maine, which introduced the expanding internet-based physician support service company to viable location options in the state of Maine.
"Our work with Maine & Company was instrumental in achieving a decision to open the athenahealth Maine Center," said Bush. "We commend the group's dedication and commitment to bring businesses, such as athenahealth, to the state."
athenahealth will be holding a formal press conference this morning at 9:00 a.m. Eastern at the new athenahealth Maine Center. A webcast replay will be available on athenahealth's Website following the press conference.
About athenahealth
athenahealth is a leading provider of internet-based business services for physician practices. The Company's service offerings are based on proprietary web-native practice management and electronic medical record (EMR) software, a continuously updated payer knowledge-base and integrated back-office service operations. For more information visit www.athenahealth.com or call (888) 652-8200.
This press release contains forward-looking statements which are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements regarding the Company's continued growth and expansion and management's expectations regarding the creation of new jobs and the impact of tax benefits arising from its new facility in Maine, and statements regarding the benefits of the Company's service offerings. These statements are neither promises nor guarantees, and are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond our control, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated in these forward-looking statements. In particular, the risks and uncertainties include, among other things: the highly competitive industry in which we operate and the relative immaturity of the market for our service offerings; risks associated in attracting and retaining qualified personnel, in particular in new geographic regions where we establish operations; the risk that our services offerings will not operate in the manner that we expect, due to design flaws, security breaches or otherwise; potential interruptions or delays in our internet-based services offerings; our reliance upon third parties, such as computer hardware, software, data-hosting and internet infrastructure providers, which reliance may result in failures or disruptions in our service offerings through no fault of our own; errors or omissions included in our payer and clinical intelligence rules engine and database; and the evolving and complex government regulatory compliance environment in which we and our clients operate. Existing and prospective investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. athenahealth, Inc. undertakes no obligation to update or revise the information contained in this press release, whether as a result of new information, future events or circumstances or otherwise. For additional disclosure regarding these and other risks faced by athenahealth, Inc., see the disclosure contained in our public filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and available on its investor relations website at http://www.athenahealth.com and on the SEC's website at http://www.sec.gov, including athenahealth's most recent Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2007.