Proposed purchase plan called off
A proposed plan by Europe’s largest private ambulance services provider to purchase McCormick Ambulance, a private ambulance company serving Los Angeles County, has been called off. “It’s not going to happen,” says McCormick Chief Executive Officer Joe Chidley.
A letter of intent between Falck and McCormick was announced in November. Chidley says Falck made a great offer, praising the company and its efforts. “In the end, we wanted to keep [McCormick] small and in the family,” he says. “We went through the process and gained a tremendous new appreciation for what we have.”
According to the Falck website, the Danish company, founded by Sophus Falck in 1906, operates in 25 countries on five continents. It began an aggressive buying campaign the U.S. market this past year and is now the third largest privately owned ambulance service in the U.S. behind American Medical Response and Rural Metro Corp.
In early 2011, Falck purchased Care Ambulance Service Inc., a provider of ambulance transport and 9-1-1 response services for patients in Los Angeles and Orange counties, where it operates more than 135 ambulances.
This past spring, Falck acquired LifeStar, also a family-run ambulance services provider. It was founded in 1975 to serve the residents of Long Island, N.Y. Today, LifeStar operates 440 ambulances and other rescue vehicles, supplying EMS to citizens in New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Washington, D.C., Alabama, Florida and Georgia.
According to Chidley, McCormick Ambulance will remain a family-owned company. Founded in 1962 by former firefighters Robert McCormick and Russell Chidley, it is currently led by Russell’s son. Ten years ago, McCormick was purchased by Westmed Ambulance Inc., a company Joe Chidley launched in 1999 with several business partners. Today, McCormick employs more than 300 people.
