(Image credit: Dollar Photo Club.)
Patriot National, a Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.-based provider of insurance technology and outsourcing solutions, has closed its acquisition of Global HR Research (GHRR, Fort Myers, Fla.) as part of its strategy to become a one-stop shop for risk management services. GHRR provides pre-employment background screening, assessment and acquisition solutions that augment Patriot’s employer service offerings, which the company says enables its corporate clients to improve front-end risk management and reduce the costs of doing business.
Steven M. Mariano, CEO, Patriot National.
Patriot has announced that the aggregate purchase price paid for GHRR at closing was $24 million in cash, and $18 million in stock, or approximately 6.5X 2016 adjusted EBITDA. The cash portion was funded using Patriot’s revolving credit facility, according to a company statement.
(Related: Patriot National Adds Services and Relationships with Infinity Insurance Solutions Acquisition)
“We are very excited to have GHRR and its outstanding management team as an integral part of the Patriot organization,” comments Steven M. Mariano, CEO, Patriot National. “With the acquisition of GHRR, we can now offer pre-employment screening that has become a mandatory requirement for employers in managing upfront employment risk, which is critical to ensuring safer and more profitable workplaces.
Since Patriot National’s IPO in January, the company has focused on leveraging its experience in workers’ compensation to expand into other mandatory services for employers, such as self-funded health plans and now employee pre-screening, Mariano adds. The combination of these mandatory services will allow the firm to sell more solutions to employers and build deeper relationships with them, he says.
Multiple Risk Management Solutions
Brandon G. Phillips, president and CEO, GHRR.
With the combined resources of the two companies, GHRR plans to further enhance its client support model and market differentiating technology options, according to Brandon G. Phillips, president and CEO, GHRR. “We are also excited to work with Patriot National’s team to create an integrated sales process so we can effectively provide multiple risk management solutions to employers,” he comments. “We look forward to introducing our products and services to a much broader client base.”
GHRR serves companies of all sizes across the nation and is accredited by the National Association of Professional Background Screeners (NAPBS) as recognized by the Background Screening Credentialing Council (BSCC), according to a Patriot National statement.
Smooth Integration
“With our experienced onboarding team, we anticipate a smooth integration and close collaboration of our teams that will lead to near-term new organic growth opportunities as we cross sell services across our 27,000 corporate clients,” comments Patriot National’s Mariano.