The healthcare industry is one that is virtually untouched by the recession, in fact, the job growth in the industry is continually outpacing each previous year.
Topping off the healthcare industry list as the most demanded profession: nursing. While many nurses still complain of not being able to find open positions this year, the key is finding locations where nursing is most demanded. However, 2013 and beyond will mostly likely create a large demand for nurses in every state.
Two private equity firms struck a deal to buy CHG Healthcare Services, the second-largest U.S. healthcare staffing firm, in a transaction that is expected to close by the end of this year. CHG had estimated U.S. healthcare staffing revenue of $597 million in 2011. However, terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
CHG’s existing management will keep a significant stake in the company after the deal.
The firms acquiring CHG include Leonard Green & Partners and Ares Management LLC. Leonard Green is based Los Angeles and has raised more than $15 billion in private equity capital since it was founded in 1989. Ares is also based in Los Angeles and has $54 billion in committed capital under management. Ares recently acquired Insight Global, one of the largest and fastest-growing information technology staffing firms.
Current majority owner of CHG is J.W. Childs Associates, a Boston-based private equity firm.
“We appreciate the positive, successful partnership we’ve enjoyed with J.W. Childs for the last six years, and look forward to continuing our growth with our new partners at Leonard Green and Ares,” said CEO Michael Weinholtz.
Salt Lake City-based CHG was founded in 1979 and is among the nation’s oldest healthcare staffing firms. Its brands include CompHealth, Weatherby Healthcare, RN Network and Foundation Medical Staffing.
CHG is the second-largest U.S. healthcare staffing firm and the largest U.S. provider of locum tenens.
Staffing Industry Review magazine ranked the company among the “Best Staffing Firms to Work For” this year.
Merger and acquisition volume in the staffing sector remains strong, with approximately 60 notable transactions recorded year-to-date. The IT/Professional Services segment remains the most active segment, with 34 transactions in the first half of 2012. Healthcare is still lagging the rest of the pack with only eight transactions. Managed service providers (MSPs) and vendor management system (VMS) providers remain highly sought after by private equity firms looking for technology-enabled offerings with more predictable revenue patterns. In 2011, Fieldglass, Comforce (ProUnlimited) and ZeroChaos were recapitalized by private equity firms. WorkforceLogic was acquired by ZeroChaos in 2012. We see this trend continuing as penetration rates of VMS and MSP players continue to rise.
The most notable staffing transaction of 2012 has been the acquisition of Apex Systems by On Assignment. Apex, an IT staffing provider based in Richmond, Va., concluded a 15 year run by selling for more than $600 million, representing a 9.2x multiple on trailing twelve month EBITDA. On Assignment’s stock price has increased 112.5 percent over the last 12 months and is up 20.6 percent since the announcement of the acquisition.
Meanwhile, the major staffing firms such as Adecco, Randstad and ManpowerGroup have been quiet on the M&A front of late as they continue to digest past, large acquisitions and have somewhat greater exposure to Europe than the midsize U.S. staffing firms. Recruit, based in Japan, has bought StaffMark and Advantage and now has over $2 billion in U.S. revenue. Midsize acquirers such as Global Employment, Artech and Addison continue to be active on smaller transactions. As the major firms complete their integration, we believe that they will again seek acquisitions to fill out their service line offerings and to increase their margin profiles.
