Global occupational health specialist Abermed has joined forces with International SOS, the world’s leading provider of medical assistance, international healthcare, security services and outsourced customer care.

International SOS now owns a majority stake in Abermed and the aim of this partnership is to strengthen Abermed’s service offering to clients and expand its international presence through the globalisation of its specialised products and services.

With more than 6,000 professionals operating in 70 countries, International SOS helps organisations to manage the health and safety risks facing their travellers, global workforce and customers.

Both International SOS and Abermed will continue to operate as two separate companies and brands but the alliance will strengthen both organisations’ ability to drive and deliver an enhanced range of services across the globe.

James Miller, Managing Director of Abermed, said this was an exciting move that would enable the company to offer an even better service to clients, as well as new opportunities for its 360 staff.

“It is clear how well International SOS and Abermed complement one another. Abermed has unrivaled expertise in the North Sea and International SOS has an unparalleled ability to distribute healthcare services worldwide. Together our offer to the market is stronger,” he said.

Arnaud Vaissie, Chairman and Co-founder ofInternational SOS, said: “There is a growing awareness amongst organisations about their duty of care obligations to their staff.  

“International SOS and Abermed share the same objectives - to assist our clients to fulfill this duty of care and to ‘protect’, ‘maintain’ and ‘improve’ the health of their employees. The partnership will place both organisations in a stronger position to deliver an enhanced range of services globally.”

Last year, the company handled more than 1,000,000 assistance cases, including more than 18,000 evacuations.

NVM Private Equity has sold its stake in Abermed following four years of investment.