Staffing & HR Acquisitions in 2020

Mid-market private equity firm LDC has backed a management buyout of Tes Global's Supply Agencies from Tes Global. The transaction will create an independent, PE-backed group led by CEO Liam Roberts to expand its UK network, pursue potential acquisitions, and allow Tes Global to focus on its online and software-enabled education products.

Horizon Capital has committed £22m to launch a buy-and-build employment compliance group through the simultaneous acquisitions of TopSource Worldwide and PEO Worldwide. The combined business will offer end-to-end international outsourced payroll, Employer of Record (EoR) and HR management services across Europe and APAC, with the founders reinvesting and joining the new group's leadership team.

VA Claims Insider, a Texas-based veteran-focused education and coaching business, has acquired HireVeterans.com, a veteran job board founded in 2003. The acquisition brings HireVeterans.com's job-matching capabilities and listings into VA Claims Insider's platform to expand career-placement services for transitioning service members, veterans and military spouses.

PIXID Group, backed by Keensight Capital, has acquired Belgian VMS provider Connecting-Expertise from USG People Belgium to strengthen its workforce management offering and expand its presence in the Benelux. Connecting-Expertise will continue to operate under its brand and maintain a strategic partnership with USG People while integrating into PIXID's Total Talent Acquisition ecosystem.

Alexander Mann Solutions (AMS), backed by OMERS Private Equity, has acquired The Up Group from Livingbridge. The strategic acquisition will allow AMS to expand its digital executive search and talent advisory capabilities, scale The Up Group's international operations and retain Up's brand and autonomy.

KellyServices USA, LLC (Kelly Services) acquired Greenwood/Asher & Associates, Inc., a higher education executive search and consulting firm headquartered in Miramar Beach, Florida. Hyde Park Capital served as exclusive investment banker to Greenwood/Asher in the sale, which expands Kelly's education offerings into the higher education market.

New State Capital Partners has made a significant equity investment in Klein Hersh, a Horsham, Pennsylvania–based executive search firm focused on life sciences and healthcare. The Klein Hersh senior leadership team (Jason Hersh, Jesse Klein, and Josh Albert) will remain in place and retain substantial ownership as New State provides capital and operational support to accelerate growth.

The Planet Group, a portfolio company of MidOcean Partners, has agreed to acquire Interactive Business Systems (IBS), an Oak Brook, Illinois–based provider of flexible IT staffing, project solutions and managed services. The deal is an add-on acquisition intended to strengthen Planet's technology services and expand its IT staffing and managed-service capabilities, including IBS's Midwest presence and offshore delivery center in India.

Owner Resource Group (through ORG Opportunity Fund III, LP) made a recapitalization investment in SURESTAFF, LLC, a light-industrial staffing provider headquartered in Itasca, Illinois. The company's founder-operators Ray Morelli, Dave Mehr and Doug Howard remain on the executive team while Timothy Faber joins as CEO; the capital will fund geographic expansion, technology and people investments, and position SURESTAFF for future acquisitions.

OutMatch has acquired FurstPerson, a provider of pre-hire simulation assessments, to integrate simulation-based hiring tools into its talent decision management platform. The acquisition expands OutMatch’s assessment capabilities and complements its video interviewing and automation offerings; OutMatch is a portfolio company of Rubicon Technology Partners and Camden Partners.

Futuris Company (OTC: FTRS) has completed the acquisition of TalentBeacon International, a global talent acquisition and HR consulting firm. The deal expands Futuris's international delivery footprint and adds TalentBeacon's RPO, IT staffing leasing, and multi-hub delivery capabilities across India, APAC, Latin America and Europe.

Hudson Global, Inc. (Hudson RPO) has acquired Coit Group, a San Francisco-based recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) provider. The deal expands Hudson RPO's presence in the technology sector and establishes a San Francisco office to better serve Bay Area and technology clients.

NES Global Talent has integrated with Equistone-backed Fircroft Group to create a combined business operating as NES Fircroft. The combination brings together complementary geographic footprints and sector specialisms across engineering and technical staffing—NES Fircroft now operates in 45 countries and will be led by Tig Gilliam with Johnathan Johnson joining the executive team; Equistone remains a minority shareholder in the combined business.

Futuris Company signed definitive agreements to acquire majority ownership in two Cherry Hill, New Jersey-based staffing firms, Fourth Technologies, Inc. (Fortek) and Soft2001, Inc. The two companies together generate roughly $7.25 million in annual revenue and the deals are intended to expand Futuris's HCM/staffing platform in the Northeast U.S.; both transactions were expected to close in September 2020.

TSR, Inc. (Nasdaq: TSRI), a provider of IT consulting and recruiting services, has acquired Geneva Consulting Group, Inc., a Port Washington, New York-based provider of temporary and permanent IT personnel. TSR said the acquisition supports its strategy to accelerate growth and expand its staffing capabilities to better serve clients and consultants.

Job.com, a digital recruitment platform, has acquired HireVergence, a Tampa-based cybersecurity and IT recruiting firm. The acquisition pairs Job.com's AI-driven hiring technology with HireVergence's specialist recruiting capabilities to expand Job.com's service offerings and accelerate growth in cybersecurity and IT talent placement.

Prolucent Health, a new healthcare workforce technology startup founded by Bruce Springer, has launched and simultaneously acquired Liquid Compass, a jobs marketplace and recruitment-marketing platform for healthcare employers and jobseekers. The acquisition adds Liquid Compass's marketplace, workforce analytics and recruitment tools to Prolucent's AI-powered suite to improve hiring efficiency and workforce utilization across healthcare organizations.

Mission Mining Company d/b/a Futuris Company (Futuris) acquired Pioneer Global, Inc., a U.S. staffing services firm that provides temporary, temp-to-hire and direct-hire staffing. The target reported roughly $5 million in trailing twelve-month sales and places over 100 people annually; the deal is described as Futuris's first strategic acquisition to build a centralized staffing services platform focused on healthcare and professional services.

Universal Background Screening, an SNH Capital Partners portfolio company, has acquired Ohio-based OPENonline, a provider of employment background checks, drug screening and investigative services. The deal is an add-on to SNH's background screening platform (operating under the Universal brand) to expand capabilities and scale within the background screening market.

Modern Hire, a portfolio company backed by The Riverside Company, has acquired Sonru, an Ireland-based provider of automated video interviewing technology. The add-on expands Modern Hire's hiring technology suite and strengthens its in-market presence across EMEA and APAC to better serve global enterprise customers.

Circa (Infosoft Group LLC), a portfolio company of Gauge Capital, has acquired America's Job Exchange (AJE), a provider of OFCCP compliance and diversity recruitment technology based in Andover, Massachusetts. Brookside Mezzanine Partners provided subordinated debt and an equity co-investment to support the transaction, which expands Circa’s federal contractor compliance and diversity recruitment capabilities.

Dawn Patrol Partners, in partnership with NewSpring Mezzanine, completed a transaction to acquire Dynamic Workforce Solutions (DWFS) from its previous shareholders. NewSpring Mezzanine provided subordinated debt and preferred equity to support the acquisition, and DWFS will use proceeds to expand virtual training capabilities and broaden state and local government workforce program contracts.

Gi Group, the Milan-based global HR services leader, has acquired CareerArc's outplacement business and will rebrand it as Intoo USA to establish the group's first U.S. Intoo presence. All staff from CareerArc's outplacement department transitioned to Intoo USA as part of the deal, strengthening Gi Group's career transition and outplacement capabilities while enabling U.S. market entry.

Bridgepoint Development Capital (BDC) has made a growth investment in Matrix SCM, a Milton Keynes–based managed service provider that outsources hiring and management of temporary local government staff in the UK. The investment (from the Bridgepoint Development Capital III fund) will fund technology platform enhancements and selective acquisitions to accelerate growth and expand into new public-sector and professional procurement markets.

Group Management Services Inc. (GMS) has acquired Corporate Business Solutions (CBS), a Georgia-based human resources outsourcing provider. The deal adds about 70 clients and approximately 3,500 worksite employees to GMS and expands GMS’s presence in the Southeast United States.

NSC Technologies, a portfolio company of White Wolf Capital LLC, has acquired Anistar Technologies, a national low-voltage and technology infrastructure staffing firm based in Tampa, Florida. Financial terms were not disclosed; the deal adds Anistar's ~800 consulting professionals and 150+ client accounts to NSC's technical and professional staffing platform to expand capability and geographic reach.

Uncubed, a New York–based digital talent attraction and engagement platform, has acquired Finalist, a New York–headquartered candidate experience platform and pre-vetted candidate marketplace. Uncubed plans to integrate Finalist's AI-driven matching technology into its outplacement and digital campus recruiting solutions to expand capabilities and accelerate matching of pre-vetted talent to hiring companies.

univativ Group, a Triton-backed specialist personnel services provider, has acquired a majority stake in OPUS ONE Recruitment GmbH. OPUS ONE, founded in 2011 and headquartered in Munich, provides temporary staffing and permanent placement services for banking, office, finance, tax, legal and IT sectors; founder & CEO Sascha Yassine will remain with the business. Terms were not disclosed.

Terminal, a San Francisco-based provider of tech-enabled remote engineering teams, has acquired ROIKOI, an AI-powered talent-mapping and sourcing platform. ROIKOI founder and CEO Andy Wolfe will join Terminal to lead product and engineering as Terminal integrates ROIKOI’s AI sourcing capabilities into its recruiting platform to accelerate candidate matching and outreach.

G&A Partners, a national professional employer organization (PEO), acquired Leading Edge Payroll and HR Solutions, LLC, a Wisconsin-based HR outsourcing and payroll provider. The deal expands G&A Partners' Midwest presence, adds client accounts and talent, and retains Leading Edge's owner Laurie Stueber as a senior HR advisor while keeping client-facing employees in place.

Accurate Background, backed by Boathouse Capital, completed the acquisition of CareerBuilder Employment Screening (CBES) from CareerBuilder, combining two background-screening businesses under the Accurate brand. The transaction was supported by an investment from the Apax Digital Fund to accelerate product innovation, scale U.S. and international growth, and deepen screening and drug-testing capabilities.

New Heritage Capital, a Boston-based private equity firm, made a platform investment in Northern California-based DeWinter Group, a provider of temporary and permanent staffing solutions focused on finance, accounting and information technology. The deal was structured using Heritage's Private IPO solution, providing liquidity and growth capital while leaving operating control with the reinvesting owners to accelerate the company's future growth.

Rubicon Technology Partners has made a strategic majority investment in OutMatch, a Dallas-based talent intelligence platform, to accelerate product innovation, go-to-market expansion, and an active acquisition roadmap. Camden Partners will remain an investment partner; Raymond James served as financial advisor on the transaction.

Trucept Inc. acquired Afinida Inc. to expand its payroll processing capabilities and offer payroll services nationally to its PEO client base. Afinida will continue to operate under its brand as a subsidiary of Trucept, augmenting Trucept's suite of HR, accounting, and compliance services.

Diversified Search, a ShoreView portfolio company, has acquired Storbeck Search and Associates, a retained executive search firm headquartered in Media, Pennsylvania that specializes in higher education. The deal is the third add-on acquisition for Diversified Search since ShoreView's investment twelve months ago and further builds the firm's higher education recruiting capabilities.

Globalization Partners Inc. closed a $150 million minority equity investment led by funds managed by Wincove Private Holdings and TDR Capital, with participation from Sands Capital. The capital will be used to accelerate the company’s growth — including investments in client services, technology development, sales, and global expansion of its employer-of-record platform.

MML Capital Partners has made a significant growth investment in Spencer Ogden to support the recruitment firm’s next phase of global expansion and continued investment in renewables and core energy sectors. Spencer Ogden (more than 400 employees across 12 offices) will keep founders David Spencer-Percival and Sir Peter Ogden as shareholders, and MML partners will join the company board to support organic growth plans.

Tenzing Private Equity has made a growth investment in activpayroll, the Aberdeen-headquartered global payroll and expatriate tax specialist founded by Alison Sellar. The investment will back product development, sales expansion and activpayroll's acquisition and international growth strategy while supporting the existing senior management team.

Rig Up, a venture-backed skill-trade staffing and technology company, acquired Shipyard Staffing from Succession Capital Partners. Shipyard Staffing, headquartered in Norfolk, Virginia with offices in San Diego, will serve as Rig Up’s national marine platform to expand into the maritime construction and ship repair markets.

McNally Capital made a platform investment in Re-Sourcing Holdings, a New York-based provider of strategic staffing, consulting and direct-hire solutions operating six brands across 15 offices. The capital will support Re-Sourcing’s organic growth and a program of add-on acquisitions; industry executive Jeff Bowling participated as a co-investor and due-diligence partner.

Kellermeyer Bergensons Services (KBS), backed by an affiliate of Cerberus Capital Management, acquired Hospitality Staffing Solutions (HSS), a provider of outsourced housekeeping and related staffing services for the hospitality sector. HSS—headquartered in Atlanta and operating in 38 states plus Puerto Rico—will operate as a division of KBS to expand KBS's hospitality service capabilities and national scale.

PSI Services LLC, a global workforce solutions provider, has acquired Caliper, a talent management and assessment company founded in 1961. Capstone Partners advised Caliper on the transaction; PSI said the acquisition will broaden its assessment portfolio by combining Caliper’s flagship Caliper Profile and Precision Series solutions with PSI’s existing capabilities.