AKOS Ltd. acquired by Cross Country Healthcare, Inc.
- Fairmount Partners
- Jun 6, 2007
- 3 min read
W. CONSHOHOCKEN, PA – June 6, 2007 – AKOS Limited, a premier provider of drug safety/pharmacovigilance regulatory and clinical trial services headquartered outside of London, England, announced its sale to Cross Country Healthcare, Inc. (NASDAQ: CCRN), a leading provider of healthcare staffing services in the United States. Cross Country acquired all of the shares of privately-held AKOS Limited for up to $14.0 million USD in cash, consisting of an up-front payment and potential earn-out payments in 2007 and 2008, based on performance in these years. The Company expects this acquisition to be accretive to its 2007 earnings by approximately $0.01 per diluted share. (For more information, visit www.akos.co.uk)
About AKOS Limited
AKOS Limited, conducting business since 1986, serves pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies in Europe, the United States, Canada and Asia. AKOS is based approximately 30 miles north of London, England and strategically located inside what is considered to be the UK’s research triangle that extends outward from London to Cambridge and Oxford Universities. For its fiscal year ended October 31, 2006, AKOS Limited had revenue of $5.5 million USD and adjusted EBITDA of $1.5 million USD.
According to Paul Evans, Managing Director of AKOS Ltd., “We are delighted to have the opportunity to be part of Cross Country Healthcare. AKOS’s activities in Europe complements fully the drug safety and clinical trial expertise of Cross Country’s clinical research business in the USA and will provide to its clients greater opportunities for product development in two of the world’s major markets. The addition of AKOS’s specialist regulatory affairs expertise will also enable the group to support clients in their dealings with the FDA, EMEA and national authorities. As pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies look for more expert support services to assist their international product development, AKOS, as part of the Cross Country Healthcare clinical research business, is well placed to fulfill clients’ needs.”
“This acquisition expands our geographic presence and further enhances the contract staffing and drug safety service offerings of our clinical research staffing business,” said Joseph A. Boshart, President and Chief Executive Officer of Cross Country Healthcare, Inc. “This is an exciting and competitively advantageous step in further positioning our clinical trials services business to better serve existing and prospective clients in the global clinical trials/research marketplace. We look forward to the future contributions of AKOS and expect that it will not only broaden our current clinical trials staffing and drug safety capabilities, but add regulatory expertise for clients seeking compliance with FDA, ICH and EMEA standards, and also provide European coverage for clients seeking to conduct clinical trials outside the U.S.,” added Mr. Boshart.
AKOS was represented by Fairmount Partners, a leading investment bank serving life science. Fairmount assisted the company in arranging and closing the transaction. Neal McCarthy, Managing Director of Fairmount Partners commented, “It was a great pleasure working with Paul Evans, the CEO and Founder of AKOS Ltd to find the ideal partner to leverage their expertise in safety/pharmacovigilance, regulatory and clinical research. We also enjoyed working again with the Cross Country team – this is the second time our clients have chosen Cross Country over all other parties. We are confident that the acquisition of AKOS will be highly complementary to Cross Country.”
About Cross Country Healthcare, Inc.
Cross Country Healthcare, Inc. is a leading provider of healthcare staffing services in the United States. The Company has a national client base of over 4,000 hospitals, pharmaceutical companies and other healthcare providers.
Principals of Fairmount Partners acted as advisors to AKOS Ltd. in this transaction.
Contact
Neal McCarthy
Managing Director, Fairmount Partners