Gryphon Investors, through Nursefinders, Acquires Linde Healthcare and Kendall & Davis

Gryphon Investors, a San Francisco-based private equity firm, and Marcy Consulting Group, led by former Spherion Corporation Chairman & CEO Ray Marcy, today announced that they have acquired physician recruiting firms Linde Healthcare and Kendall & Davis, focused respectively on locum tenens (contract physicians) and permanent placement nationwide. Terms were not disclosed.

Founded in 1972 and based in St. Louis, Missouri, the physician recruiting firms serve more than 3,000 clients, including hospitals, government agencies, private practitioners and other healthcare organizations across the U.S. Within the locum tenens segment, Linde Healthcare is one of the nation’s fastest growing providers.

These acquisitions complement Gryphon/Marcy’s September 2004 acquisition of Nursefinders, Inc., in partnership with management and Kaiser Permanente. One of the nation’s largest nurse staffing and home healthcare companies, Nursefinders provides nurses, home health aides, therapists and other healthcare professionals to more than 4,700 hospitals, nursing homes, healthcare facilities and patients through approximately 120 offices nationwide. Linde and Kendall & Davis will become subsidiaries of Nursefinders.

“We believe that the growing shortage of physicians in America, driven by rising demand for healthcare services and changing work preferences among doctors, will lead to continued attractive industry growth in the locum tenens and physician recruiting industry,” said Nick Orum, Gryphon partner and head of its Business Services Group. “Moreover, the potential for accelerated growth as a result of the synergy that exists between these firms and Nursefinders is an attractive prospect.”

Jim Kendall, founder of Kendall & Davis and partner in Linde Healthcare, Patrick Donovan, founding partner of Linde Healthcare, and the existing management teams will remain with the companies after the acquisition. Steve Lindemann, a founding partner of Linde Healthcare, will pursue other business interests following the acquisition.

Kendall stated, “We were approached by many potential investors over the years yet remained uninterested in selling our business. However, we were so impressed by Ray Marcy, the people at Gryphon and the Nursefinders management team led by Bob Livonius that we could not help but be excited about the opportunity with them. We have complete confidence in the vision of Ray Marcy and Gryphon and in the long-standing track record of success that Ray and Bob bring to this partnership.”

Donovan said, “We look forward to expanding our physician specialties and meeting a greater scope of customer needs as a result of the added resources this acquisition will bring. As important are the additional career opportunities that we will now be able to offer our physicians and staff.”

Nursefinders CEO Bob Livonius added, “There is a tremendous opportunity to refer Linde Healthcare and Kendall & Davis to Nursefinders’ existing customers, thousands of whom are purchasers of locum tenens and physician recruiting services. The ability to provide a broader array of services to our mutual customers will only increase the value both organizations bring to clients.”

Ray Marcy, who served as CEO for Spherion from 1991-2001 and who currently serves as Executive Chairman of Nursefinders, will become the Executive Chairman of Linde Healthcare and Kendall & Davis. Marcy said, “We are delighted to invest in and help participate in the future growth of Linde Healthcare and Kendall & Davis, our first acquisition within the physician recruiting arena. These firms boast an impressive management team and reputation within the industry. Additionally, they share with Nursefinders a common culture of value-added partnerships with clients and outstanding customer service that extends from senior management to every level of field management.”

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About Gryphon Investors

Based in San Francisco, Gryphon Investors focuses on leveraged acquisitions of, and growth investments in, middle-market companies in partnership with experienced management. Having managed more than $1 billion of discretionary equity capital, Gryphon has an extensive track record of investing $25 to $75 million of its own capital in companies with sales ranging from $25 to $250 million. Gryphon prioritizes investment opportunities where it can form proactive partnerships with owners and executives to build leading companies, utilizing Gryphon’s capital, professional resources and significant financial and operational expertise. Visit www.gryphoninvestors.com for more information.

Contacts

for Gryphon/Marcy:

Lisa Baker

Owen Blicksilver Public Relations, Inc.
914-725-5949
LISA@BLICKSILVERPR.COM

for Linde Healthcare, Kendall & Davis, Nursefinders:

Tricia Boone

The MarcomGroup
571-214-2375
TRICIA@MARCOMGROUPINC.COM