DocPlanner, a Polish startup enabling users to find, book and rate doctors and dentists, has acquired a Turkish rival in an undisclosed deal. The purchase of Eniyihekim will help DocPlanner – for which Berlin VC Point Nine Capital is an important investor – cement its place as the market leader in Europe, as it faces off with its rival on the other side of the Atlantic, ZocDoc.
The move will see its unique monthly visitors grow from 4.5 million to over 6 million, and the team will expand to almost 100 people across three countries. As part of the deal, DocPlanner will put money and expertise into Eniyihekim, including working on its mobile app.
With DocPlanner, patients can access healthcare faster and more easily by searching for and booking appointments online, and use the review and rating system to make a decision. The platform has listings of more than a million doctors and dentists across 25 countries, having started out with a focus on Eastern Europe.
The doctors and dentists, meanwhile, benefit by having their open appointments filled up.
According to Warsaw-based DocPlanner, the acquisition makes it the “largest of its kind in Europe” where some six billion appointments are made in total each year.
Mariusz Gralewski, founder and CEO of DocPlanner, said: “This is a transformational acquisition for DocPlanner. … Together we are committed to building DocPlanner into a leading online medical appointment booking platform, first in Europe, then globally.”
Gralewski added that he believes future growth will come from a mixture of organic drivers and further acquisitions.
Eniyihekim, meanwhile, has attracted over 1.5 million unique users a month with listings of almost 150,000 healthcare professionals since its launch in 2012, and will retain its name and branding. Its founder and CEO, Altay Tinar, will remain with the company after the acquisition, and he said: “The Eniyihekim team is excited to work with DocPlanner to deliver excellent service to healthcare providers in Turkey.”
And Pawel Chudzinski, partner at Point Nine Capital, said: “The takeover of Eniyihekim is a great step in DocPlanner’s path to internationalisation and is further proof of its business model.”