Cross Country Healthcare to Be Acquired by Knox Lane in $437 Mn Deal

The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2026, subject to shareholder and regulatory approvals.

Healthcare staffing company Cross Country Healthcare has agreed to be acquired by investment firm Knox Lane in a deal valued at approximately $437 million, the companies announced Wednesday.

Under the definitive agreement, Cross Country Healthcare will transition to a privately held company while continuing to operate under its existing brand. The deal values the company’s stock at $13.25 per share, representing a nearly 31% premium over its Wednesday closing price. The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2026, subject to shareholder and regulatory approvals.

Cross Country Healthcare CEO, Chairman and Cofounder Kevin Clark said the investment firm brings “significant and direct expertise” in healthcare staffing that could support the company’s next growth phase while delivering immediate value to shareholders.

The acquisition comes months after Cross Country’s proposed merger with Aya Healthcare collapsed following regulatory scrutiny. That earlier deal, announced in 2025, valued Cross Country at roughly $615 million, or $18.61 per share. The proposed merger faced opposition after officials from the Federal Trade Commission raised concerns over competition in the healthcare staffing market.

Founded more than 40 years ago, Cross Country Healthcare has been publicly traded on NASDAQ since 2001. The company provides staffing services for travel nurses, allied healthcare professionals, locum tenens physicians, home care workers, and education-related personnel through its Intellify workforce platform. It also offers consulting, workforce management, and staffing support services.

The company expanded its physician staffing operations in 2022 through acquisitions of Mint Medical Physician Staffing and Lotus Medical Staffing. It also acquired interim leadership firm HireUp Leadership during the same year.

Knox Lane manages approximately $3.5 billion in assets and has prior investments in healthcare workforce and practitioner engagement companies, including All Star Healthcare and HCEsquared.

In regulatory filings submitted Thursday, the companies disclosed that either party terminating the agreement under certain conditions could be required to pay a one-time termination fee of $14.2 million.

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