(James Fontanella-Khan in San Francisco and Bryce Elder and Arash Massoudi in London)
WebMD, the US online health information publisher, is exploring the possible sale of all or part of its business, according to people familiar with the situation.
The digital company, which provides data and educational information about illnesses, has been in talks with a number of potential buyers, said people close to the company.
Walgreens and UnitedHealth are two potential bidders, according to people who closely follow the sector.
WebMD and Walgreens already collaborate on a number of initiatives, including a virtual wellness-coaching programme that can be downloaded as an application on smartphones.
Shares of WebMD rose nearly 6 per cent on Wednesday in heavy trading. Since the start of the year the stock has risen 10 per cent, giving the company a market value of close to $2bn.
People familiar with the situation said WebMD could decide not to do anything after reviewing its options.
Last year it hired bankers to explore a sale but later opted to remain independent.
WebMD told investors at JPMorgan’s healthcare conference in San Francisco that online traffic during the fourth quarter of 2015 rose 6 per cent year-on-year to an average of 201m unique users per month.
WebMD declined to comment on whether it was weighing a sale of its business.