Staffing & HR Acquisitions in 2021

DecisionHR, a nationwide full-service PEO and subsidiary of Bankers Financial Corporation, has acquired Modern Business Associates, Inc. The combination, effective January 1, 2022, creates one of the five largest privately held PEOs in the United States and expands DecisionHR's HR, payroll, benefits and risk-management capabilities.

Hamilton Robinson Capital Partners, alongside WorkforceQA management, completed a recapitalization of WorkforceQA, a Salt Lake City–based tech-enabled third-party administrator of employee screening and compliance services. Gladstone Capital Corporation provided senior debt and a minority equity investment to support the transaction, which will fund technology and people investments and accelerate WorkforceQA's acquisition strategy.

ZRG, a PE-backed global talent advisory firm, has acquired London-based executive search firm Walter James to expand its supply chain and life sciences recruiting capabilities and inherit the Euromedica brand. Walter James CEO James Absalom will join ZRG as Functional Global Leader of Supply Chain, and ZRG expects the acquisition to accelerate end-to-end talent support for its clients globally.

FinTech Automation, a fintech Infrastructure-as-a-Service platform, has acquired DevBase, a U.S.-based nearshore staff augmentation firm that provides hiring, training and management of software engineers. The deal expands FTA's development capabilities and UX/UI resources to accelerate product development for financial institutions and fintech customers; FinTech Automation is a portfolio company of a merchant bank fund managed by Austin Capital General Partner.

Main Street Capital Corporation completed a $14.6 million growth capital investment and minority recapitalization in Johnson Downie, LLC, a Houston-based provider of lateral partner placements and retained partner-level recruiting services for law firms across Texas. The financing comprised first-lien senior secured term debt and a direct minority equity investment; Main Street partnered with an unnamed co-investor and the Company's existing owner/management team to facilitate the transaction.

PayDay Employer Solutions, a Bellmawr, New Jersey-based payroll and employer services provider, has acquired StarPay Payroll & HR Solutions of Long Island (Melville/Plainview, New York). The seller will retain StarPay's local service team and owner Cheryl Frankel in a client-facing role, and the deal expands PayDay's client roster to more than 3,000 companies while preserving StarPay's existing software and reporting.

Brunel International N.V. has acquired Taylor Hopkinson, a Glasgow-based specialist recruiter for the renewable energy sector, from Longacre Group. The founder Tom Hopkinson will continue to lead the business as Brunel looks to expand its renewable energy workforce and advisory capabilities globally.

Tenex Capital Management completed an investment in Black Diamond Networks, a specialized professional staffing firm focused on life sciences and engineering/technology talent. Northstar Capital provided junior capital (debt and an equity co-investment) to help finance the transaction, which was effective November 30, 2021.

True, a global talent management platform backed by LLR Partners, has acquired Hobbs & Towne (HTI), a climate technology and sustainability executive search firm. HTI's team of more than 30 recruiters will form True's new Climate Tech practice, expanding True's executive search and talent capabilities in clean energy, mobility, food/agriculture and water sectors.

HireQuest, Inc. (Nasdaq: HQI) has completed the acquisition of the Dental Power Staffing (DPS) division of Dental Power, a Carrboro, North Carolina–headquartered dental staffing firm. DPS will operate as a corporate-owned subsidiary of HireQuest and will serve as the platform to launch a HireQuest franchise offering tailored to the dental market.

Iron Creek Partners led an investment alongside Main Street Capital Corporation to provide growth capital to Credential Check Corporation, a Troy, Michigan–based provider of employment background screening and drug testing services. The transaction closed in August 2021; financial terms were not disclosed.

Iron Creek Partners led a recapitalization of Verified Credentials, Inc., joined by Verified's management team and Main Street Capital Corporation, closing in November 2021. The transaction provided growth capital to support Verified's technology advancement and product expansion; financial terms were not disclosed and CEO Kevin Spang remains in place and will join the board.

ClearStar, a Hanover Investors portfolio company, has acquired Employment Screening Resources (ESR) to strengthen its coast-to-coast background- and medical-screening capabilities and accelerate cross-selling of technology-driven screening solutions. The deal expands ClearStar’s West Coast presence, brings ESR’s compliance expertise into the platform, and follows ClearStar’s continued roll-up strategy supported by owner Hanover Investors.

Orange Tree Employment Screening, a Tonka Bay Equity Partners portfolio company, has acquired Vericon Resources, Inc., a Georgia-based provider of background screening services. The deal is an add-on intended to expand Orange Tree's client base and capabilities by integrating Vericon's custom solutions with Orange Tree's cloud-enabled screening platform under Tonka Bay's ownership.

LiveToBeHappy, Inc. (OTCM: CAVR) has acquired Atlanta-based Trudant Financial Executive Services, an executive consultancy and retained employee services firm. The company also appointed Grant Edwards as CFO (who will lead Trudant as Managing Director); LiveToBeHappy expects Trudant to add revenue and EBITDA, serve as a base for expansion into the Atlanta area, and support a shared services center expected to employ about 50 people over three years.

EmployBridge, a majority-Apollo-backed staffing platform, has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Hire Dynamics, a leading light-industrial and commercial staffing provider in the Southeastern United States. The deal, which represents an add-on to the EmployBridge platform, will be led post-close by Hire Dynamics CEO Billy Milam and follows MSouth Equity Partners' successful exit.

Bullhorn, the Boston-based provider of cloud software for the staffing industry, has acquired cube19, a long-standing Bullhorn Marketplace partner that provides analytics and reporting solutions for staffing firms. The acquisition integrates cube19’s real-time business intelligence capabilities into Bullhorn’s platform to deliver actionable insights for staffing agencies and accelerate digital transformation.

Astara Capital Partners acquired a majority stake in BDV Solutions, a Greenville, South Carolina-based tech-enabled provider of employment-based immigration services, partnering with the company's current owners including Founder and CEO Britt Vergnolle. Graycliff Partners provided unitranche debt and a minority equity investment to support the transaction; terms were not disclosed. The investment is intended to fuel BDV's growth and expand its service capabilities to help U.S. employers address labor shortages.

Agathos Management LLP is backing a management buy-out of Hunter Healthcare, a London-headquartered specialist healthcare recruitment business. The investment will facilitate the MBO and support the senior leadership team's domestic and international growth plans as Hunter expands into diagnostics and medical devices markets in the United States.

Vaco, a global talent solutions firm, has acquired Bay State Search, a Boston-based talent acquisition and outsourcing firm founded in 2013. The acquisition expands Vaco's presence into the Boston market and strengthens its consulting, contract and direct-hire capabilities across accounting & finance, technology and operations.

Chicago-based private equity firm GTCR has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Cisive, a provider of compliance-driven background screening and workforce monitoring solutions. GTCR will partner with Cisive's CEO Jim Owens and management to accelerate growth through organic initiatives and add-on M&A while investing in product expansion and service capabilities.

Hire Dynamics, a PE-backed Atlanta staffing firm, has acquired Houston-based The Daniel Group to deepen its presence across Texas. The deal expands Hire Dynamics’ local branch footprint and adds engineering, finance and accounting staffing expertise in the Houston market.

IDC Technologies has acquired Lyneer Staffing Solutions, a national staffing firm headquartered in Ewing, New Jersey. Lyneer operates over 100 offices and provides temporary, permanent and temp-to-perm staffing across light industrial, clerical, hospitality, accounting/finance and medical segments — the deal expands IDC's manpower and workforce solutions capabilities.

Shoreline Equity Partners has partnered with Career Now Brands, a technology-enabled provider of candidate-funnel solutions for transportation, warehousing and trade-school customers, in a growth investment that will support the company's next phase of expansion. Co-investors include Madison Capital Funding LLC, Churchill Asset Management, abrdn and Career Now's management team; Madison provided senior financing and Churchill provided junior debt while Career Now founders remain significant owners and will continue to lead the business.

Two Sigma Impact, the impact investing business of Two Sigma, acquired Eclipse Advantage, a provider of outsourced supply chain workforce solutions that serves warehouses and distribution centers across the United States and Canada. The acquisition (terms undisclosed) follows Eclipse's growth under Longshore Capital Partners and will support expansion of digitally-powered workforce analytics and tools to improve employee retention and operational productivity.

Tecum Capital Partners has made a growth investment in JD Palatine LLC, a U.S.-based, technology-enabled business process outsourcing provider focused on background and employment screening. First Commonwealth Bank provided senior debt financing alongside Tecum; JD Palatine’s founder and CEO Chad Killian will remain in place as the company pursues expansion with new capital and strategic support.

Hire Dynamics, a commercial staffing company headquartered in Atlanta and owned by MSouth Equity Partners, acquired Dallas-based Select Staff to strengthen its presence across Texas. The deal closed October 1, 2021, and brings Select Staff’s 10 Texas branches into Hire Dynamics’ network to expand services across light industrial, office/clerical and accounting/finance markets.

Randstad USA (part of Randstad N.V.) has acquired Cella, a leading U.S. staffing, managed solutions and consulting firm focused on creative, marketing and digital roles. The deal expands Randstad's capabilities and market position in the higher-margin creative, marketing and digital staffing and professional services market.

TopSource Worldwide, backed by private equity firm Horizon Capital, has acquired Compandben to add Employer of Record (EOR) and multi-country payroll (MCP) capabilities to the group. The deal expands TopSource's global payroll and EOR offering and creates a combined business employing over 200 people with clients across the globe.

PRO Unlimited has acquired WillHire, a direct-sourcing and worker experience platform, to integrate WillHire’s talent-pool, self-assessment and candidate-engagement capabilities into PRO’s DirectSource PRO and Wand VMS offerings. The deal expands PRO’s direct-sourcing coverage into light-industrial and shift-worker categories and strengthens its worker experience and AI-driven sourcing capabilities.

Charlottesville-based private equity firm Quad‑C Management completed a growth investment in Chicago-based Titan Security Group, a large provider of security staffing, electronic security systems and consulting. The capital will support Titan’s continued organic growth and management‑led buy‑and‑build strategy, with CEO David S. Pack remaining in place.

NorthEdge has backed a primary management buyout of Meet, a life-sciences talent acquisition and recruitment business. The investment will support Meet's global growth, hiring plans and M&A-driven expansion while founder and CEO Hannah Donaldson remains in leadership.

Patreon has acquired Clear Talent, a tech recruiting firm, to rapidly expand its talent acquisition capabilities and immediately add nearly 40 technical recruiters, sourcers, and HR professionals to Patreon's team. The move is intended to accelerate hiring for engineering, product, and design roles as Patreon scales its platform and feature roadmap.

ManpowerGroup agreed to acquire ettain group for $925 million in cash, integrating the company into its Experis IT resourcing and services business to strengthen ManpowerGroup's IT capabilities. The acquisition is expected to be accretive to 2021 and 2022 EPS (excluding one-time costs) and will expand Experis' scale and presence across financial services, healthcare IT and government clients.

Job.com acquired staffing firms Fortus Healthcare Resources and Endevis, adding more than $50 million of annual revenue and expanding its sector coverage into healthcare, automotive and manufacturing. The purchases will allow Job.com to apply its AI-driven recruitment technology to scale the acquired businesses and accelerate growth across travel nursing, direct placement, contract staffing and RPO services.

An affiliate of H.I.G. Capital has completed the acquisition of Oxford Global Resources, LLC, a specialty staffing and consulting firm headquartered in Beverly, Massachusetts, from ASGN Incorporated. The transaction (announced July 2021 and completed August 2021) was valued at approximately $525 million and positions H.I.G. to accelerate Oxford's growth across life sciences, IT, engineering and healthcare staffing markets.

PrestigePEO has acquired PathGoal Employer Services from Headway Workforce Solutions, making PathGoal a wholly owned subsidiary effective August 16, 2021. The deal — supported by PrestigePEO's investor TriSpan — expands PrestigePEO's geographic footprint and PEO service offering into the Raleigh/Durham and broader North Carolina market for SMB clients.

Bullhorn has acquired Sirenum, a London-based provider of shift scheduling and workforce management software for enterprise staffing companies, to strengthen its Bullhorn for Salesforce offering and help customers manage shift-based work at scale. The deal (terms undisclosed) will accelerate Sirenum’s product roadmap and expand Bullhorn’s capabilities—particularly for large European staffing agencies managing hundreds of thousands of hourly workers.

Funds managed by affiliates of Apollo Global Management have completed the previously announced acquisition of EmployBridge, the largest industrial staffing company in the United States. Apollo said it will work with EmployBridge's leadership to invest in technology, the associate experience and new client engagement models to drive platform growth; terms were not disclosed.

Merit Capital Partners and Six Pillars Partners, in partnership with The Liberty Group founder Ken Bohan, have acquired The Liberty Group, a Houston-based specialty temporary staffing and executive search firm serving the U.S. multi-family real estate industry. Merit provided subordinated debt and equity for the recapitalization to support growth and expand Liberty's on-site staffing, executive search and onboarding capabilities; the company was represented by Capital Alliance.

Infosoft Group, LLC (dba Circa) purchased Colorado-based LatPro, Inc., which operates DiversityJobs, adding a leading diversity-focused job board and OFCCP HR compliance technology to Circa's offerings. The acquisition makes DiversityJobs a subsidiary of Infosoft and is intended to accelerate Circa's growth in diversity-focused talent acquisition and compliance solutions.

Hireology has acquired EmployUs, an employee referral platform, to expand its applicant tracking and hiring platform capabilities. The deal integrates EmployUs referral workflows into Hireology’s hiring solution to help customers source more qualified candidates and accelerate time-to-hire.

Elysian Capital III LP, in conjunction with Eton Bridge Partners' management, has acquired a majority stake in Eton Bridge Partners Ltd, an executive search, interim management and consulting firm. The investment—the first from Elysian Capital's third fund—will support the firm's growth and broaden its leadership solutions across the UK and internationally.

Equus Workforce Solutions acquired Ontario-based workforce services provider Agilec effective July 1, 2021, expanding Equus' North American footprint. Agilec will continue to operate under its name and retain key leaders, while the combined company extends workforce development and vocational rehabilitation services across the U.S., Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Ontario, Canada.

The Planet Group, a portfolio company of Odyssey Investment Partners, has agreed to acquire OmniPoint Staffing, a full-service IT staff augmentation firm that specializes in ERP and infrastructure projects. The add-on expands The Planet Group's Technology portfolio and strengthens its Workday and enterprise systems staffing capabilities.

EQT Private Equity (through its EQT IX fund) has agreed to acquire PRO Unlimited Global Solutions Inc., a provider of contingent workforce management solutions, from funds managed by Harvest Partners and Investcorp. PRO Unlimited — headquartered in San Francisco with ~1,400 employees — will remain led by its existing management team, and EQT will support continued product development and expansion of the company's integrated platform.

Tenex Capital Management has made a growth investment in BELAY Solutions, a U.S.-based virtual staffing provider headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. The investment, effective June 25, 2021, will support BELAY's hiring, marketing, and continued expansion of its remote staffing and professional services.

Aequor Technologies, a Life Sciences staffing and consulting firm based in Piscataway, New Jersey, has acquired HireLifeScience.com, a niche career network focused on life sciences recruiting. The acquisition will expand Aequor's visibility and talent access in the life sciences market and support plans to build a full-featured temporary staffing platform.

People2.0 has acquired TalentWave, a long-standing US provider of EOR, AOR and workforce compliance services; financial terms were not disclosed. The deal folds TalentWave's iConnect classification and deep connectivity with high-volume talent procurement firms into People2.0's global EOR/AOR platform; prior owner Serent Capital will become a shareholder in the combined company alongside TPG Growth, CIP Capital and management.

Vaco, a Nashville-based talent and solutions firm, has acquired Alluvion, a Jacksonville, Florida-based talent acquisition and outsourcing firm. The acquisition expands Vaco's presence in Florida and adds Alluvion's consulting, contract and direct-hire capabilities across accounting & finance, technology and operations.