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View All NewsUK — Acromas eyes up Allied Healthcare
04 October 2010
Acromas, the parent company of the Automobile Association and Saga Insurance, is rumoured to be eyeing up Allied Healthcare, the Nasdaq-quoted staffing firm, which has a network of 110 branches in the UK, the Daily Telegraph reports.
Acromas is owned by venture capitalists CVC Capital Partners, Charterhouse and Permira. The company is said to have appointed US investment bank Oppenheimer to look at strategic options for Allied Healthcare, which has a market capitalisation of around 65.7 million Pounds.
In August 2010, Acromas also wrote to the board of Nestor Healthcare, the UK listed provider of social and primary care services, outlining plans to make a 90 Pence per share bid for the group.
Nestor at the time said that "the unsolicited approach by Acromas materially undervalued the company and was therefore rejected."
Acromas is now believed to be carrying out due diligence on Nestor, which generates two thirds of its revenues from social care for patients and one third from primary care for patients.
Allied Healthcare and Acromas have both declined to comment to the Daily Telegraph.
The UK healthcare staffing market is seeing a lot of consolidation at present. Earlier this year US private equity firm Blackstone bought healthcare recruitment agency Independent Clinical Services (ICS) for 130 million Pounds and is now in negotiations to buy Pulse, the staffing agency for doctors, nurses and social workers.