Favorite Healthcare Staffing, the eighth-largest US healthcare staffing firm, was acquired by Acacium Group, a healthcare recruitment firm based in London.

Acacium said the deal will make it the first specialist healthcare staffing business with operations in the US, Europe and Australia.

“Together we will bring the best of our experience and deliver innovative staffing and workforce solutions to our clients,” Favorite Healthcare President Chris Brink said. “This partnership will also provide a strong platform for future acquisitions.”

Favorite Healthcare is based in Overland Park, Kansas, and operates nationwide in the US with 27 branch offices. It provides staffing in local per diem and travel for nursing and allied health professionals. It also provides permanent placement, float pool management and VMS and MSP programs.

“It has become clear through this pandemic that healthcare is now significantly more global in focus with a far greater appetite for collaborative solutions and need for partners that can deliver new strategies and perspectives,” Acacium CEO Mike Barnard said. “This partnership allows us to uniquely serve this growing demand.”

Acacium’s other brands include General Medicine Group, a specialist recruitment agency for doctors in the UK; Liquid Personnel, a staffing provider focused on placing social work professionals in the UK; and Pathology Group, a specialist recruitment agency for pathology doctors in the UK.

Acacium is owned by Toronto-based private equity firm Onex Corp.