Naperville, Ill. Carole Cullen, longtime board member of the National Association for Medical Equipment Services, has sold her company, Cullen Medical Equipment, to Apria Healthcare Group. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

"I've been doing this for 15 years, and during that time, our company has grown a lot," Cullen said. "But the reimbursement delays, the managed care issues . . . I felt that I didn't want to fight those battles any more."

A respiratory services and home medical equipment provider with five locations in Illinois and Indiana, Cullen Medical had annual revenue of $6 million. Apria has retained the Naperville headquarters but has consolidated Cullen Medical's other locations, Cullen said.

The company incorporated in 1981, but Cullen didn't come on board until 1984. "I moved my way up the ranks and started to acquire it after several years," she said. "It's been fun, and it's been an adventure, but it's time to open a new chapter." Cullen said she was changing industries but hadn't yet decided on a specific future course.

The June 14 purchase signals Costa Mesa, Calif.-based Apria's first move in its plan to pursue strategic acquisitions, something the former consolidator hadn't done in several years. After Apria posted fourth-quarter net income in March, Philip Carter, chief executive officer, said that with Apria's turnaround under way, the company "could renew focus on small 'tuck-in acquisitions' particularly targeted at respiratory therapy business." Officials said the company has earmarked about $50 million for acquisitions.

Apria's purchase marks a trend among "mature" consolidators, says health care merger and acquisition consultant Dexter Braff of The Braff Group, Pittsburgh. "Earlier in their development, buyers such as Apria would have ignored acquisition opportunities such as Cullen [because] they already had significant market penetration," Braff said. "Now, in order to boost revenues and profits, many of these buyers are considering acquisitions in existing markets where they can add significant volume."

Other former NAMES leaders who have sold their businesses in the past 15 months include Don Kirson last October and Jim Liken in July 1998. -K.S.