In a deal that unites two of the largest workforce solution providers in the US, Aya Healthcare announced it will acquire Cross Country Healthcare (NASDAQ: CCRN) in a transaction valued at approximately $615 million.  

The acquisition is expected to provide clinicians with greater flexibility by tapping into the companies’ combined pool of nationwide opportunities, the companies said in a joint press release.  

“Aya Healthcare was already the largest healthcare staffing firm in the US by a significant degree, and this large transaction implies a combined entity with roughly 20% market share,” said Timothy Landhuis, VP of research at SIA. “Prior to joining Cross Country as CEO four years ago, John A. Martins was a strategy executive at Aya Healthcare, which means that there may already be some similarities in strategy that could help the two firms to operate in alignment together.”

Cross Country, based in Boca Raton, Florida, brings almost 40 years of expertise in areas such as per diem staffing, permanent placements and school-based services. It also offers other non-clinical specializations.

“What we’re bringing over is a lot of diversification in the type of businesses we have,” said Cross Country CEO John A. Martins in an interview, mentioning the company’s PACE Home Care centers for home health staffing, as well as its education business.

The all-cash transaction offers $18.61 per share to Cross Country stockholders, representing a 67% premium to the company’s Dec. 3 closing price and a 68% premium to its 30-day volume-weighted average. Cross Country shares were up 63% to $18.16 in late afternoon trading in New York.

“We are excited to join forces with Cross Country and, together, bring more innovative solutions and exceptional service across the industry,” said Alan Braynin, president and CEO of Aya, in the release.

Opportunities

The combination will open a variety of opportunities for Aya and Cross Country alike, said Martins.

“We believe it’s really going to be a win-win for all of our clinicians and non-clinical professionals because we’re going to have access to so many more jobs,” he said. “There’s going to be greater optimization and efficiencies by both companies.”

Aya and Cross Country both have “world-class” VMS and MSP technologies as well as clinician-facing technologies, Martins said.

“Bringing the companies together we believe will accelerate the utilization of these technologies as we make more and more inroads of bringing AI and business intelligence to our clients,” he added.

Cross Country will become a private entity upon completion of the transaction, with its common stock delisted from NASDAQ. The Cross Country brand will remain and Martins will continue to serve as president and CEO.  

When asked about possible layoffs, Martins said, “The intent is to bring everyone over. As we go through the transition there could be some redundancies we see or some publicly traded company-specific roles that may have to be reduced.”

Aya has also committed to maintaining a significant presence in Boca Raton as part of the transition. 

The merger awaits approval from Cross Country stockholders and regulatory bodies. 

Aya, based in San Diego, ranks as the largest healthcare staffing firm in the US and the seventh-largest globally, according to SIA data. Meanwhile, Cross Country ranks as the seventh-largest healthcare staffing firm in the US.