Staffing Firm Aya Inks $615M Deal For Cross Country Healthcare

The leaders of San Diego-based staffing and software firm Aya Healthcare Inc. have agreed to pay $615 million in cash for publicly traded Cross Country Healthcare Inc. The deal, which needs the approval of Cross Country investors, is expected to close by the middle of next year.

The proposed acquisition will let Aya expand its services into non-clinical settings such as schools and homes while growing its network in travel nursing, allied health and interim leadership work, among other things. Cross Country will retain its brand under Aya and John Martins, its president and CEO, will stay on “to ensure a seamless transition.”

Aya is home to more than 4,500 people. Cross Country finished 2023 with roughly 2,300 corporate employees—the companies’ announcement noted that Aya plans to maintain a large presence at Cross Country’s home office in Boca Raton, Florida—and averaged more than 10,800 full-time equivalent employees in the field last year.

“We are uniquely positioned to offer enhanced value to our healthcare systems, schools, clinicians and non-clinical professionals,” said Alan Braynin, Aya’s president and CEO. “Aya and Cross Country will operate as separate brands, supporting each other’s clients with increased access to candidates while expanding assignment opportunities for clinicians.”

The acquisition agreement between Aya and Cross Country calls for a $20 million breakup fee if the deals falls through for any number of reasons, including if Cross Country’s directors strike a better deal with an unsolicited suitor or if Aya runs into antitrust issues.

For Cross Country, the sale announcement comes after roughly two years of retrenching following the boom in healthcare staffing during and immediately after the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2022, Cross Country’s top line grew nearly 70 percent to more than $2.8 billion and its operating profits nearly doubled to $273 million.

But the comedown since then has been rough: Revenues and operating income shrank by 28 percent and 60 percent, respectively, last year and Cross Country is on pace to book 2024 revenues of only about $1.3 billion. Through nine months, the business had taken more than $13 million in operating losses.

Speaking to analysts a month ago after Cross Country had reported its third-quarter results, Martins said things were getting a bit better. But only a bit.

“We are encouraged […] that demand continues to inch forward,” Martin said. “It’s not off to the races, but it’s certainly in a better place than even at the start of the quarter.”

That the salad days of staffing have faded from the rearview mirror is also evident in Cross Country’s stock price: Aya’s purchase price of $18.61 was nearly 70 percent above where Cross Country shares (Ticker: CCRN) had been trading prior to the news. In October of 2022, the stock briefly changed hands above $38.