Anscor sells stake in US-based firm for $36.85M

Holding firm A. Soriano Corp. (Anscor) has raised $36.85 million from the sale of its US healthcare staffing business under Cirrus Holdings.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, Anscor said its wholly owned British Virgin Island company IQ Healthcare Investments Ltd. had entered into a merger agreement with Webster Capital Management LLC, a US-based company.

This deal effectively divested Anscor’s entire stake in Cirrus Medical Staffing Inc. (CMSI), equivalent to 93.55 percent of the latter’s total outstanding shares, for $36.85 million.

CMSI owns 100 percent of Cirrus Holdings USA, LLC, a North Carolina limited liability company engaged in the contracting and temporary staffing and permanent placement of nurses and allied healthcare professionals in the US. It also owns Cirrus Global Services Inc. (CGI), a Philippine domiciled company that provides finance and administrative support services.

Anscor, which acquired CMSI in 2008, entered into this deal to unlock values from its investment.

For the year 2016, Cirrus paid Anscor International P315.5 million through the redemption of preferred stock and cash dividends.

Cirrus is among the top 50 largest travel nursing companies and among the top 100 fastest growing staffing companies in the US. It has a preferred vendor relationship with the largest home health company in the US.

For its part, CGI enlists Filipino nurses for job placement in American healthcare institutions. It deploys nurses for an American hospital in Abu Dhabi and also recruits physical therapists for the US market.