Australia-based workforce management company People Infrastructure announced that it entered into agreements to acquire Queensland-based healthcare staffing agencies First Choice Care Pty Ltd and Carestaff Nursing Services Pty Ltd.

The combined acquisition price for First Choice and Carestaff is AUD 16.8 million (USD 11.5 million) payable on closing. People Infrastructure expects First Choice and Carestaff to contribute AUD 3.4 million (USD 2.3 million) in EBITDA for the next 12 months.

People Infrastructure said it is expected that both acquisitions will be completed in the following weeks. The First Choice transaction is subject to a third party change of control approval.

First Choice and Carestaff both provide nursing staff to Queensland health public hospitals, private hospitals and residential aged care operators across Queensland. The First Choice and Carestaff businesses have been operating for over 14 and 20 years respectively.

People Infrastructure said the consideration will be funded from cash reserves, including proceeds raised from the AUD 20 million (USD 13.8 million) share placement announced last week. The acquisitions are expected to be EPS (earnings per share) accretive in FY 2020.

Last week, People Infrastructure announced that it resumed trading on the Australia Securities Exchange after it had requested a trading halt earlier that week. The trading halt was requested pending the release of its share placement announcement.

People Infrastructure Managing Director, Declan Sherman, commented, “The acquisition of First Choice and Carestaff represents a logical extension of People Infrastructure’s health and community care business in Queensland.”

“People Infrastructure will now be the leading health and community staffing business in Eastern Australia through the aggregation of our niche nursing brands First Choice and Carestaff (Queensland), Network Nursing (New South Wales), Victorian Nurse Specialists (Victoria) and Australia’s leading community care managed workforce provider Edmen Community Staffing Solutions. We are very excited with the platform People Infrastructure now has in the health and community care sector and the operating synergies and cross selling opportunities between our brands.”

The acquisition of the two healthcare staffing agencies follows People Infrastructure recent acquisition of acquired Halcyon Knights, an IT recruitment firm based in Australia.