Digital staffing giant Aya Healthcare has officially withdrawn from its planned $615 million acquisition of travel-nursing provider Cross Country Healthcare, ending a nearly year-long pursuit of the deal. Aya said mounting regulatory uncertainty made the transaction unworkable, despite continued belief in its strategic value.
Aya, one of the largest healthcare staffing firms in the U.S., offering digital workforce management platforms, locum tenens, per diem, permanent placements, and enterprise workforce technology, first announced its intent to buy Cross Country in December 2024 for $18.61 per share in cash. The move was positioned as a major consolidation in the healthcare staffing and workforce-technology market.
What the Merger Would Have Achieved
The proposed integration promised to combine Aya’s technology-driven staffing platform with Cross Country’s long-standing expertise in travel nursing, allied health, education staffing, and workforce solutions. Both companies emphasized that their organizations were highly complementary, with shared ambitions to:
- Build a unified, tech-enabled national staffing network
- Extend modern workforce solutions for hospitals, health systems, schools, and post-acute providers
- Expand clinician career pathways through a broader set of assignments and roles
- Enhance staffing quality, speed, and transparency through digital tools
Cross Country would have brought significant scale: operations in all 50 states, deep relationships with hospitals and school systems, and diversified staffing services spanning clinical and nonclinical environments. Combined, Aya and Cross Country would have formed one of the largest healthcare staffing ecosystems in the U.S., competing directly with companies like AMN Healthcare and Trusted Health.
Regulatory Scrutiny Strengthens
Despite initial momentum, the deal encountered immediate challenges from federal regulators.
In February 2025, Cross Country disclosed in SEC filings that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) had issued a Second Request—a formal investigation step that signals concerns about potential anticompetitive effects. Regulatory pressure intensified throughout the year, culminating in the FTC raising serious objections to the merger.
FTC Bureau of Competition Director Daniel Guarnera said on Friday that staff had identified “major competitive issues,” warning that the combination would eliminate direct rivalry between two of the largest providers of software platforms and support services used by hospitals to source and manage travel nurses and other contingent staff.
Industry Impact
The collapse of the Aya–Cross Country deal underscores a broader trend: healthcare labor markets are becoming a priority area for antitrust enforcement. With hospitals increasingly dependent on travel nurses and contingent staff amid persistent workforce shortages, regulators are wary of consolidation that could:
- Constrain competition among staffing providers
- Give dominant platforms greater pricing power
- Limit wage growth or job flexibility for clinical professionals
Industry analysts note that this may reshape future M&A strategies in the staffing sector. Large-scale rollups, once common, may face higher scrutiny, pushing companies to focus instead on organic technology expansion, strategic partnerships, and targeted acquisitions that do not trigger antitrust alarms.
For now, both Aya and Cross Country return to independent operations, with the possibility of revisiting collaborations in the future if market conditions and regulatory environments shift.
Aya Healthcare Says No to Potential $615M Cross Country Healthcare Merger
Aya Healthcare has officially declined a potential $615 million merger with Cross Country Healthcare, signaling a clear decision to remain independent amid ongoing consolidation across the healthcare staffing sector.
Aya Healthcare has declined a potential $615 million merger with Cross Country Healthcare, a decision that underscores its confidence in remaining independent despite ongoing consolidation in the healthcare staffing market. According to industry observers, Aya Healthcare believes its current scale, technology-driven platform, and strong clinician network provide a competitive advantage that does not require a merger to sustain growth. The move by Aya Healthcare reflects a broader trend among well-capitalized staffing firms that are prioritizing organic expansion, operational efficiency, and long-term profitability over large-scale acquisitions. Analysts note that Aya Healthcare has continued to gain market share by investing in digital workforce solutions and expanding service lines across travel nursing, per diem staffing, and allied health, strengthening its appeal to healthcare systems facing persistent labor shortages. By walking away from the proposed deal, Aya Healthcare signals confidence in its financial position and strategic direction, while allowing management to remain focused on innovation and clinician engagement. Overall, the decision positions Aya Healthcare as a dominant independent player in the healthcare staffing industry, capable of navigating market volatility without relying on transformative mergers.
