ATLANTA, Oct. 31 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Crawford & Company (NYSE:
CRDA; CRDB) announced today that it finalized its acquisition of Platinum
Equity's portfolio company Broadspire Services Inc., a leading third- party
administrator offering a comprehensive integrated platform of casualty
claim and medical management services.
Crawford acquired the privately-held corporation for $150 million. The
acquisition is anticipated to more than double Crawford's revenue from
self- insured clients.
"This acquisition strengthens our position in the marketplace and the
services we provide to our clients and brokers," said Thomas W. Crawford,
president and CEO of Crawford & Company. "The coupling of these two
companies will help lower costs for clients, and offer them more
specialized support services."
Jim Levitas, senior vice president for mergers and acquisitions at
Platinum Equity, said that Crawford & Company will continue the development
of Broadspire Services, which Platinum established as a stand-alone company
after acquiring the business in 2003 from Kemper Insurance Companies.
"We have invested a great deal in building Broadspire Services into one
of the industry's premier providers of integrated claims and medical
management services," Levitas said. "We are proud of the company's strong
capabilities and track record, and have a great deal of confidence that
Crawford will continue building on Broadspire Services' success."
Dennis Replogle, formerly president and chief executive officer of
Broadspire Services, now president of Broadspire Services, a Crawford
Company, said combining Broadspire Services and Crawford & Company would
enhance the capabilities of each.
"This is a huge win for both companies and their clients," said
Replogle. "Binding with Crawford will offer our clients greater value and
more services."
The acquisition of Broadspire Services supports Crawford's mission of
becoming the leading third-party administrator of choice in all segments of
the market for casualty claims program administration. Casualty claims
administration encompasses workers' compensation and auto and general
liability exposures for the insured and self-insured marketplace. Based on
2005 revenue(1), the combined Crawford and Broadspire Services organization
will rank third in revenue from claims handled for this market segment. (1)
Crawford & Company intends to retain the Broadspire Services name.
Crawford Integrated Services, the Company's risk and healthcare management
business unit, will rebrand as Broadspire Services, a Crawford Company.
"Keeping the Broadspire Services name fits in with the Crawford &
Company strategy of providing an independent, clearly recognizable identity
for each business unit within the Company," said Bob Kulbick, chief
executive officer of Broadspire Services.
Crawford will have a conference call on the acquisition on Thursday,
November 2, 2006, at 3:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. This call can be
accessed by dialing 1-877-481-7146 (domestic) or 706-679-2795
(international).
The call will be recorded and available for replay until November 9,
2006. To listen, you may dial 1-800-642-1687 (domestic) or 706-645-9291
(international) (conference ID # 1004642).
This call is being webcast by Thomson/CCBN and can be accessed at
Crawford & Company's Web site at http://www.crawfordandcompany.com.
The webcast is also being distributed through the Thomson StreetEvents
Network. Individual investors can listen to the call at
http://www.earnings.com, Thomson's individual investor portal, powered by
StreetEvents. Institutional investors can access the call via Thomson
StreetEvents (http://www.streetevents.com), a password-protected event
management site.
About Crawford & Company
Based in Atlanta, Georgia, Crawford & Company
(http://www.crawfordandcompany.com) is the world's largest independent
provider of claims management solutions to insurance companies and self-
insured entities, with a global network of more than 700 offices in 63
countries. Major service lines include property and casualty claims
management, integrated claims and medical management for workers'
compensation, legal settlement administration, including class action and
warranty inspections, and risk management information services. The
Company's shares are traded on the NYSE under the symbols CRDA and CRDB.
About Platinum Equity
Platinum Equity (http://www.platinumequity.com) is a global M&A&O(R)
firm specializing in the merger, acquisition and operation of companies
that provide services and solutions to customers in a broad range of
business markets, including information technology, telecommunications,
logistics, manufacturing, and entertainment distribution. Since its
founding in 1995 by Tom Gores, Platinum Equity has acquired more than 60
businesses with more than $13 billion in aggregate annual revenue.
About Broadspire Services
Broadspire (http://www.choosebroadspire.com), a third-party
administrator, offers a broad array of customized casualty, medical
management and integrated disability management services designed to
increase employee productivity and contain costs. The services Broadspire
offers include workers' compensation, auto and general liability claims
management; medical and field care management, either integrated with
casualty services or available on an unbundled basis; integrated workers'
compensation and disability management programs. Broadspire is based in
Plantation, Florida, a suburb of Ft. Lauderdale, with 1,800 employees
throughout the United States.
Except for historical information contained herein, the matters
discussed in this press release are forward-looking statements that involve
risks and uncertainties, including the integration and results of the
acquisition. Crawford & Company faces risks associated with the
acquisition, including, but not limited to, risks that the integration of
Broadspire Services into the Company's operations may not be successful or
may be more expensive than anticipated and that the anticipated results of
the combined company following the acquisition may not meet expectations.
For a discussion of other factors which could affect the Company's
performance, see the Company's Form 10-K for the year ended December 31,
2005 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, in particular the
information under the headings "Business," "Legal Proceedings" and
"Management's discussion and Analysis of financial Condition and Results of
Operations."
(1) Source: Business Insurance. March 20, 2006, page 16.
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