Morneau Shepell Ltd. has acquired Longpré, an employee assistance and wellness program provider based in Montreal.
The move expands the company’s presence in Quebec following its acquisition of Solareh, another employee assistance provider in December.
Read: Morneau Shepell acquires Montreal-based EAP provider
The recent acquisitions will help the company advance its business strategy to lead the employee assistance market in Canada, according to Julien Ponce, executive vice-president for Eastern Canada and national leader of the consulting practice at Morneau Shepell.
“The Quebec market from an employee wellness perspective is different from the rest of Canada,” says Ponce. “The market is more fragmented, and there are a number of smaller EAP providers.”
While Morneau Shepell already had a strong presence in the province, Ponce says the acquistions made sense as “Longpré and Solareh were two very well-respected EAP providers in the Quebec market. We’ve had our eyes on them for a long time.”
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The acquisition represents less than one per cent of Morneau Shepell’s revenue, according to a news release. Longpré’s services cover a range of areas, including wellness, coaching and training for managers, crisis management and short-term counselling.
“Joining Morneau Shepell is a leap forward in terms of Longpré’s long-term growth and the services provided to our clients,” said Anne-Marie Longpré, president and chief executive officer of Longpré.
“The acquisition gives Longpré access to Morneau Shepell’s clinical best practices, technology and worldwide presence and it gives Morneau Shepell an experienced team of employees that has consistently provided a high quality of service to clients. Our focus now is on making the transition for Longpré clients an easy one.”