AMR and EmCare sold by Laidlaw for $823 million

[WAS967 97]

http://chicagobusiness.com/cgi-bin/news.pl?id=14819

Laidlaw sells healthcare cos for $823m

December 06, 2004

(AP) - Laidlaw International Inc. will sell both its healthcare

subsidiaries, American Medical Response Inc. and EmCare Inc., to Onex Corp.

in a transaction valued at about $823 million.

The investment will be made through Onex Partners and certain of its limited

partners which will invest about $218 million in equity, Onex said in a

release. Senior management of the businesses will also be investors and

owners along with Onex, the company said. Laidlaw said in a statement net

cash proceeds will be about $775 million after debt assumed by the buyer and

a payment of transaction costs.

Denver-based American Medical, the largest U.S. provider of ambulance

transport services, operates 4,400 vehicles through more than 260 locations

in 34 states with about 18,200 employees.

EmCare, headquartered in Dallas, provides outsourced hospital emergency

department physician staffing and management services. It has operations

across the U.S., with over 300 contracts in 38 states and about 4,100

employees and clinicians.

Onex, a diversified company with global operations in service, manufacturing

and technology industries, said its acquisition of the two businesses is

expected to close in the first quarter of 2005.

[WAS967 97]

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi...hi-business-hed

Bus company sells ambulance business

By Robert Manor

Tribune staff reporter

Published December 6, 2004, 4:35 PM CST

Naperville-based Laidlaw International Inc., the nation's largest bus

company, said today it would sell its medical business.

An affiliate of Onex Corp. will pay $820 million for Laidlaw's American

Medical Response and EmCare. Laidlaw said proceedings from the sale would be

used in part to retire $579 million of debt.

"The sale of the two companies will allow us to retire cumbersome and costly

debt," said Laidlaw CEO Kevin Benson.

American Medical Response, which is based in suburban Denver, provides

ambulance services while EmCare, based in Dallas, offers emergency room

management.

With 18,200 employees, American Medical Response is the nation's largest

ambulance company, with 4,400 vehicles and operations in 34 states.

EmCare provides emergency-room physicians and other employees to hospitals

seeking to outsource their emergency room operations. It has 4,100 companies

and contracts with more than 300 hospitals in 38 states.

Laidlaw acquired the firms in the mid-1990s, as a way of diversifying its

main business of operating school buses and Greyhound intercity buses.

Company spokeswoman Kimberly Mulcahy said Laidlaw wanted to become more of a

pure transportation operation. "There was some confusion about the company

being in both transportation and health care," she said.

Although its Greyhound brand has been an American icon for decades, Laidlaw

is a relative newcomer to the Chicago area.

The company, then based in Canada, ran into financial problems several years

ago and eventually filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. After emerging from

bankruptcy last year, the firm moved to Naperville.

Onex is a Canadian-based global conglomerate with diverse interests in

health care, technology, and manufacturing.

Laidlaw said that it will use some of the money to buy back 3.8 million

shares of its stock which is held in trust for its Greyhound employee

pension plan. That will require the permission of the Pension Benefit

Guaranty Corp.

Laidlaw's stock has done well this year. Trading at $14 a share at the

beginning of 2004, it closed Monday at $19.54, up four cents.

[WAS967 97]

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/sto...Story/Business/

Onex makes U.S. medical bet

Monday, Dec 6, 2004

Onex Corp., Canada's biggest leveraged-buyout company, said Monday that it

has agreed to buy two medical-related business units from Laidlaw

International Inc. in a deal valued at $980-million.

After the close of trading, Onex said that it and "certain of its limited

partners" will invest about $260-million in equity to acquire ambulance

service provider American Medical Response Inc. and medical-staffing company

EmCare Inc. Onex said that senior management from the business will also be

investors in the transaction.

Denver-based American Medical Response, or AMR, is the biggest ambulance

company in the U.S., Onex said in a press release. The company operates

4,400 vehicles in 34 U.S. states and employs 18,200. EmCare is located in

Dallas and assists in emergency room staffing.

Onex shares rose 23 cents or 1.1 per cent to $20.01 in Toronto trading,

while Laidlaw gained 4 cents to $19.54 (U.S.) in New York.

[WAS967 97]

Ironic ain't it? AMERICAN medical response owned by Canadians. :-> Tho if you want to be REALLY technically, they are americans too. :-k

[x635 4,066]

That sale came out of nowhere. It'll be interesting to see what changes are made to AMR....I know they've been doing pretty well for the past year or two.

Also wonder if this will affect their new AEV Traumahawk Safety protype production?

[WAS967 97]

I didn't really come out of nowhere. Laidlaw has been looking to get rid of AMR for years. Despite the recent turn around in profitability, I'd say this has been in the works for a while.