(Bloomberg) -- Canadian investment firm Onex Corp. is evaluating options including a potential sale of UK health-care staffing business Acacium Group, according to people familiar with the matter.

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The Toronto-based company is working with advisers at Bank of America Corp. to help identify potential suitors for the business, the people said, asking not to be identified as the information is private. London-based Acacium could be valued at about $1.5 billion or more in a sale and is likely to draw interest mostly from buyout firms, the people said.

Deliberations are in the early stages and no final decisions have been made, the people said. Onex didn’t respond to requests for comment. A spokesperson for Bank of America declined to comment.

Demand for staffing in health care has increased, especially after the coronavirus pandemic, prompting investors to seek exposure to the industry. Acacium provides doctors, nurses and technicians, as well as services, to hospitals and other health agencies. Onex acquired the business in 2020 from another private equity firm, Towerbrook Capital Partners, for an undisclosed amount.

Onex this year paused fundraising for its flagship vehicle as rising interest rates and fears of a recession curbed investors’ risk appetite. Raising money for large private equity funds is the “most difficult the industry has ever seen,” Chief Executive Officer Bobby Le Blanc said in September.

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