Cross Country Healthcare, Inc. (CCRN)

Cross Country Healthcare, Inc. is a healthcare staffing and workforce solutions company headquartered in Boca Raton, Florida. The business traces its history to 1986 and placed travel nurses, allied health professionals and physicians with hospitals and other facilities. It went public on Nasdaq in the early 2000s under the symbol CCRN.

Its operations centered on nurse and allied staffing, including travel, local and per diem placements, and on physician staffing through its Cross Country Locums business. The company also provided workforce solutions such as managed service programs, recruitment process outsourcing, consulting, search services and technology for managing healthcare workforces. Clients included public and private hospitals, health plans, outpatient clinics, physician groups and schools. Growth in the 2010s and 2020s included acquisitions such as Medical Staffing Network's assets in 2017 and Advantage RN in 2021. Demand for travel nurses surged during the COVID-19 pandemic and then fell sharply as hospital staffing needs normalized, which weighed on revenue. First-quarter 2026 revenue was $241.1 million, down about 18 percent year over year, and the company reported a net loss of $4.3 million.

In December 2024, Cross Country agreed to be acquired by Aya Healthcare, the largest travel nurse staffing firm, for $18.61 per share in cash, a deal valued at about $615 million. The Federal Trade Commission raised significant competitive concerns, and the extended review period overlapped with a federal government shutdown. The parties could not agree a further extension of the outside date, and the agreement fell apart in December 2025.

Chief executive John Martins stepped down soon afterward, and co-founder Kevin Clark returned as CEO. On May 6, 2026, Cross Country announced a new agreement under which Knox Lane, a private equity firm with about $3.5 billion in assets under management, would acquire the company for $13.25 per share in cash. The price was a 31 percent premium to the prior closing price and valued the company at about $437 million, with a $14.2 million termination fee provision.

The earlier failed Aya transaction shaped the second deal. The $18.61 per share price offered by Aya was far higher than the $13.25 later agreed with Knox Lane, which reflected the changes in the staffing sector and the company's financial results in the interim. Revenue pressure from declining travel nurse demand had continued for several years.

Knox Lane's portfolio included other healthcare staffing and services businesses, and the firm said it intended to support Cross Country as a private company. Completion of the transaction required regulatory clearance, which was expected within the third quarter of 2026 when announced.

After the transaction closed, a Form 25 was filed on July 21, 2026, and Cross Country's common stock was removed from Nasdaq. The company now operates as a privately held business owned by Knox Lane, with no successor ticker.