CEO headhunters unite: Diversified adds BioQuest of Calif.

Philadelphia-based executive headhunter Diversified Search has acquired San Francisco-based BioQuest, which focuses on finding bosses for life-sciences companies.

With $37.5 million in yearly sales prior to the acquisition, Diversified is the ninth-largest executive search firm in the U.S., Hunt Scanlon Media says here. BioQuest will boost sales about 10 percent, Diversified says.

BioQuest owner and founder Roger Anderson "has got to stick around" as part of the deal, Diversified founder and chairman Judee Von Seldeneck told me. Anderson said his clients will benefit from Diversified's "broader reach."

The firms won't say what Diversified paid, only that it included both cash and equity.

Diversified CEO Dale E. Jones called BioQuest "a marquee addition to our healthcare portfolio," which includes medical-device, biopharma, health IT and other clients.