Case History

"Charterhouse is different from many private equity firms because they think like operators and have the capacity to really understand businesses and build-ups. They were, and continue to be with us every step of the way."

-- Joseph Boshart

In late 1997, Charterhouse identified the staffing
market as a key sub-sector within both healthcare services and business services and we actively attended conferences and trade events in order to learn more about the investment arena. In 1998, the firm met Joseph Boshart, CEO of Cross Country, a $160 million revenue travel staff nursing company which was a subsidiary of W.R. Grace.

After developing a relationship with Joe over the course of a year, Charterhouse approached Cross Country's parent and proposed purchasing the business. While a proprietary manager relationship evolved into a company auction, Charterhouse prevailed in its efforts due to its knowledge of the staffing space and the confidence that W.R. Grace had regarding the likelihood of the firm completing the transaction.

In July of 1999, Charterhouse and management finalized the buyout of Cross Country. Just six months after the acquisition, Cross Country merged with TravCorps, its leading competitor at the time, to create what is today the largest single brand in the rapidly growing travel nurse staffing sector. The integration of these businesses resulted in: increased operating efficiencies through improved productivity of administrative personnel; the elimination of redundant functions; the use of greater purchasing power; and, the consolidation of, and improvement in, information systems.

Today, Cross Country is one of the largest providers of healthcare staffing services in the United States. The Company places traveling nurses and other healthcare professionals with more than 4,000 hospitals, pharmaceutical companies, nursing homes and other healthcare providers across all 50 states.

Cross Country leveraged its early leadership position to expand into related high growth niches such as search and recruitment, consulting, continuing education and training. Through 2000 and 2001, Cross Country acquired Heritage, Clinforce and Gil-Balsano, adding complementary growth drivers to the Company's core travel nurse staffing business. Furthermore, in 2003, the Company acquired Med-Staff, one of the largest privately-held national travel and per diem nurse staffing companies, to expand the Company's recruiting and placement reach and establish a greater presence in nurse staffing at military hospitals and clinics.

Cross Country, which completed its initial public offering of common stock in October 2001 raising $123.5 million, was one of the top-performing healthcare IPOs of that year. In early 2002, the Company completed a secondary offering, in which Charterhouse sold a portion of its interest. Charterhouse today continues to hold an interest in the Company. Cross Country trades on the NASDAQ under the symbol CCRN.