Staffing & HR Acquisitions in 2022

The Panther Group, a Maynard, Massachusetts-based full-service staffing and recruiting firm, acquired Enterforce, Inc., a Pewaukee, Wisconsin-based managed service provider (MSP), in a stock purchase completed December 30, 2022. The deal folds Enterforce into Panther's workforce solutions offering as an independent division to expand capabilities and service breadth for clients across the Americas, Europe and Asia.

DISA Global Solutions, a portfolio company of Audax Private Equity, has acquired Global HR Research (GHRR) from Renovo Capital. The add-on strengthens DISA's employee screening, testing and compliance capabilities and expands its presence in end markets including healthcare, manufacturing and education; financial terms were not disclosed.

BGSF, Inc. (NYSE: BGSF), a national provider of consulting, managed services and workforce solutions, acquired Texas-based Horn Solutions, Inc., a workforce solutions firm focused on finance, accounting and IT staffing. The acquisition adds Horn’s teams and capabilities across Houston, Dallas and Austin to BGSF’s consulting and managed services platforms, enabling cross-selling and expanded IT managed services.

Critical Energy Infrastructure Services (CEIS), a platform formed by private investment firm White Wolf Capital, has acquired Rayne Staffing, a Houston-based staffing firm specializing in engineering, construction management and skilled trades professionals for the energy infrastructure sector. Financial terms were not disclosed; White Wolf said the acquisition will provide Rayne with capital and resources to accelerate growth as part of CEIS's platform serving utilities, nuclear power generation and other power customers.

Insight Partners has made a minority growth investment in Riviera Partners, a data-driven, tech-enabled executive search firm headquartered in San Francisco. The capital will support Riviera's geographic expansion and scaling of its recruiting technology and services while the firm continues to operate independently.

ZRG, a global talent advisory firm backed by RFE Investment Partners, has acquired Hub Recruiting, a boutique RPO (Recruiting Process Outsourcing) firm based in Bedford, Massachusetts. The acquisition expands ZRG's capabilities in embedded recruiting and volume hiring for technology-focused clients, integrating Hub's Full Stack RPO offering into ZRG's talent advisory and data-driven recruiting services.

JER HR Group LLC has acquired Willis HR LLC, a small HR consulting firm founded in 2014 that serves SMB and nonprofit clients. The acquisition brings Willis HR’s client portal and consulting capabilities into JER HR Group’s HR Services division and is intended to expand JER’s service offerings and HCM technology footprint nationwide.

Ambitious People Group has acquired a majority stake in FSM Group, an international recruitment advisory headquartered in Brussels, with financial support from private equity investor Capital A. FSM Group — which operates four specialist recruitment brands across eight offices in five countries and employs roughly 150 people — will keep its current management team in place while joining Ambitious People Group's buy-and-build strategy focused on digitalization and accelerated international growth.

Oxford Global Resources, a portfolio company of H.I.G. Capital, has acquired Hale International, a specialist Workday staffing firm. The acquisition expands Oxford's IT staffing capabilities into the Workday ecosystem; Hale's founder Matthew Cox and the Hale team will join Oxford and continue to lead the Workday-focused division as Oxford's first add-on since H.I.G. acquired the company.

NFP has acquired Philadelphia-based Juno Search Partners, a search and staffing firm that specializes in contingent search, contractor placement, executive search and custom talent solutions. The acquisition expands NFP's human capital consulting and talent solutions capabilities and strengthens its presence in the Philadelphia market.

HireQuest, Inc. entered into a definitive agreement to acquire certain assets of MRINetwork (MRI), including its 232 franchise offices, for approximately $13.5 million before working capital adjustments. The acquisition gives HireQuest immediate scale in executive search and professional staffing, adding MRI's franchise network and complementary capabilities to HireQuest's existing staffing brands.

Orange Tree Employment Screening, a portfolio company partnered with Tonka Bay Equity Partners, has acquired Info Cubic, a Colorado-based background screening provider that serves heavily regulated industries including healthcare and DOT-regulated sectors. The transaction is an add-on acquisition intended to deepen Orange Tree's vertical expertise and accelerate its growth plans.

CoAdvantage, a national Professional Employer Organization (PEO) based in Bradenton, Florida, has acquired Georgia-based MomentumHR, a Savannah PEO founded in 2000. The acquisition strengthens CoAdvantage’s presence in Georgia and accelerates the company's Southeast and national growth; financial terms were not disclosed.

EmployBridge, a PE-backed leader in light-industrial staffing, has completed its acquisition of Bluecrew, a W‑2 workforce-as-a-service platform, from IAC. The deal combines EmployBridge's scale with Bluecrew's digital-first technology; IAC received cash and combined-company stock and will be a minority shareholder while Apollo-managed funds remain the combined company's controlling shareholder.

The Liberty Group, a portfolio company of The Halifax Group, has acquired Apartment Advantage, a Pacific Northwest apartment staffing and training provider. The deal expands Liberty's multifamily staffing footprint into the Portland, Oregon market and strengthens its presence in the Seattle area; terms were not disclosed.

HireBetter, an Austin-based strategic talent partner, has acquired Austin-based Diverse Recruiting Experts (DRE). The acquisition expands HireBetter's recruiting capabilities — in particular DRE's Sourcing-as-a-Service and diverse-talent sourcing expertise — and will support the launch of HireBetter's Recruiting-as-a-Service offering.

Cornell Capital and TorQuest Partners have completed an investment to acquire S.i. Systems, one of Canada’s largest IT staffing firms, from Quad‑C Management. The transaction will keep S.i. Systems headquartered in Calgary and support the company's growth plan to expand its IT staffing capabilities and geographic footprint across Canada and into the U.S.

LandrumHR, a full-service human resources firm based in Pensacola, Florida, acquired Ceres Talent, a Washington D.C. metro-area marketing recruiting firm, effective Nov. 1, 2022. Ceres Talent will retain its name and brand as the fifth brand in the LandrumHR portfolio and will continue to be led by managing partners Sue Keith and Kathy McConnell.

TopSource Worldwide has acquired Blueback Global, a California-based provider of employer of record, multi-country payroll, entity set-up and entity management services. The deal brings Blueback founder Arden Ng and his team into TopSource, expands service delivery locations (US, Nicaragua, Singapore, Hong Kong, South Korea) and adds entity services to TopSource's platform, creating a combined business serving ~1,600 clients across 90+ markets.

OneDigital has acquired Cognos HR, a PEO and human resources consulting firm headquartered in Oak Brook, Illinois. The acquisition brings 16 Cognos HR team members into OneDigital, expands OneDigital's PEO capabilities and presence in the Chicago market, and gives access to Cognos HR's roster of more than 150 SMB clients.

Teleperformance has acquired US-based PSG Global Solutions from its management and private investors for an enterprise value of US$300 million. PSG, a Marina del Rey, California–headquartered leader in recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) with ~4,000 employees and roughly $75M revenue, will expand Teleperformance's Specialized Services, strengthen its US healthcare vertical and bolster digital recruitment capabilities.

Allied Universal has acquired Century Event Security & Staffing, an Orlando-based provider of event security and staffing services, to expand its event services footprint in Orlando and Las Vegas. The acquisition provides Allied Universal with additional operations and access to several thousand event staff to support major exhibitions and conventions in these key markets.

WilsonHCG, a global talent solutions firm headquartered in Tampa, Florida, has acquired Tracking Talent, a South Africa–based talent acquisition consultancy founded in 2016. The deal expands WilsonHCG's footprint and capabilities across South Africa and the wider EMEA region, bringing Tracking Talent's team and client relationships into WilsonHCG's global platform.

Vaco, a global talent solutions firm headquartered in Nashville, has acquired BVOH, a boutique San Francisco and Austin-based executive search and consulting firm specializing in finance and accounting placements. The deal brings BVOH’s ~35 employees and leadership team into Vaco’s platform to expand its presence in the Bay Area and establish a footprint in Austin while strengthening Vaco’s accounting and finance recruitment capabilities.

DeWinter Group, a Silicon Valley-based staffing and recruitment firm backed by New Heritage Capital, has acquired Syrinx Consulting, a Greater Boston provider of high-end software development and technology staffing. The acquisition strengthens DeWinter's Maris Consulting Group, adds software development skillsets, and expands the combined firm's East Coast reach.

The Riverside Company has acquired a majority equity stake in OutSolve, LLC, a Metairie, Louisiana-based provider of outsourced labor and employment compliance solutions. LNC Partners sold the majority interest held in its Fund I while LNC's Fund II also joined as a new investor; Riverside plans to drive growth through add-on acquisitions and expanding adjacent services such as pay equity, DE&I and ESG.

Palatine’s Impact Fund II has made its first investment by taking a significant stake in Inclusive Employers, the UK membership organisation focused on workplace inclusion. The investment will fund scaling of membership, business development and team expansion; founder Richard McKenna will be exiting and a new chair (John Zafar) will join the board.

RCM Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq: RCMT) acquired TalentHerder, a recruitment process outsourcing and talent acquisition services firm, to expand its RPO capabilities and candidate sourcing reach. The deal enhances RCM's in-house recruiting capacity and accelerates its ability to serve high-growth clients across in-person and remote hiring environments.

AEA Investors’ Small Business Private Equity team has closed the acquisition of RED Global Limited, a London-based specialist IT staffing firm focused on the SAP ecosystem. The deal includes rollover investment from RED’s senior leadership team and positions AEA to expand its footprint in the IT staffing market through RED’s global SAP talent network and blue-chip client relationships.

Orangewood Partners, a New York-based private investment firm, has acquired Barrington James, a global life-sciences recruitment firm headquartered outside London. Brightwood Capital Advisors provided a senior secured credit facility to support the transaction; Barrington James' founder Dan Barrington and the existing leadership team will continue to run the business and retain a significant ownership stake. The investment will fund Barrington James' U.S. and global expansion, strengthen client-service capabilities and support continued investment in recruiting technology.

PeopleShare, a Collegeville, Pennsylvania-based staffing firm, has acquired DecisionPathHR, a temporary staffing company with four locations in the Charlotte, North Carolina area. The acquisition expands PeopleShare’s branch footprint to 40 offices across eight states and strengthens its presence in North Carolina and South Carolina.

QED Investors has increased its ownership of Lingua Franca Search, a boutique retained executive search firm that places talent in fintech and financial services roles. The acquisition brings LF Search more fully into QED's portfolio to provide an internal capability for recruiting critical hires while LF Search will continue serving external clients.

Calendly acquired Prelude, a San Francisco–based recruiting operations and interview-scheduling platform, to deepen its enterprise scheduling capabilities for hiring teams. The deal integrates Prelude’s interview scheduling automation and ATS integrations into Calendly’s platform to improve candidate experience and support recruiting workflows from SMBs to enterprise customers.

Seaside Equity Partners has partnered with PayReel, a tech-enabled provider of HR compliance, worker classification, and payrolling solutions based in Golden, Colorado. Seaside will provide capital and strategic support to accelerate PayReel's technology development, broaden capabilities, and drive growth with enterprise clients.

Accusource, a Housatonic Partners-backed provider of pre-employment screening services, has acquired Proforma Screening Solutions. The add-on expands Accusource’s capabilities and customer reach — bringing the combined company to serve over 6,000 customers and strengthening its presence in healthcare, staffing, government, education and transportation sectors.

Caymus Equity Partners LLC has acquired Seneca Resources, an IT staffing and consulting firm headquartered in Reston, Virginia. The investment (Caymus' second from Fund II) will provide capital to support Seneca's expansion into new industry verticals and geographies and to pursue strategic acquisitions.

Audax Private Equity has acquired DISA Global Solutions, a Houston-based provider of employee screening, testing, and compliance management services, from Court Square Capital Partners. Audax intends to support DISA's growth through investments in technology and talent and pursue add-on acquisitions to expand DISA's geographic footprint, end-market coverage, and service portfolio.

Atlas, a Chicago-based Employer of Record (EOR) and HR technology platform, raised a Series B strategic equity investment of up to $200 million from Sixth Street Growth to support its global expansion and product enhancements. The capital will be used to expand Atlas' technology, add self-service and automation features, localize software, and scale in-region customer support; Sixth Street Growth's Nari Ansari will join Atlas' board.

S.i. Systems ULC, Canada’s largest IT staffing company, has acquired xiBOSS Corporation, a Toronto-based IT staffing firm. The deal brings xiBOSS's ~15-person team into S.i. Systems to create larger centers of excellence for financial and technology clients and expand S.i. Systems' presence across Ontario; terms were not disclosed.

People2.0, a global employer-of-record (EOR) and agent-of-record (AOR) services platform, has acquired Husys, an India-based HR consulting and EOR services provider based in Hyderabad. The deal expands People2.0's footprint and capabilities in the Indian market and integrates Husys' HRIS and outsourcing capabilities into People2.0's regional APAC operations.

Digital Intelligence Systems, LLC (DISYS) has entered into an agreement to acquire the assets of MAKE Corporation, a woman-owned IT and professional recruiting firm. The acquisition will expand DISYS' IT staffing and workforce solutions capabilities across banking & financial services, healthcare, manufacturing and retail, and will integrate MAKE's operations into DISYS' operating model.

Flexible Staffing of Lake in the Hills, Illinois has acquired Purcell Staffing, Inc. of Louisville, Kentucky. The acquisition expands Flexible Staffing's footprint into the Louisville market; terms were not disclosed.

The Offr Group, an Austin-based recruiting and staffing firm, has acquired Denver Devshop, a Denver-based technical recruiting agency focused on software engineering and technology leadership. The acquisition expands The Offr Group's engineering recruiting capability and enables it to better serve seed- to Series C-stage, high-growth startup partners with top engineering talent.

Korn Ferry has acquired Infinity Consulting Solutions (ICS), a New York–based IT staffing and interim professional placement firm. The deal expands Korn Ferry's interim professional solutions and IT staffing capabilities, integrating ICS's senior-level talent network and data-driven recruitment processes into Korn Ferry's global organizational consulting platform.

Harver has completed the acquisition of pymetrics to integrate pymetrics' behavioral-based AI soft-skills assessments into Harver’s hiring platform. The deal expands Harver’s talent decisioning capabilities across the employee lifecycle by combining complementary assessment, I/O psychology and cognitive-science-based technologies to deliver more predictive and unbiased hiring and talent-management solutions.

SilkRoad Technology, backed by HighBar Partners, has acquired Entelo's candidate search and recruitment marketing SaaS capabilities to expand its talent acquisition and onboarding platform. The deal brings Entelo technology and leadership (Robert Tsao appointed CEO of SilkRoad) into SilkRoad to create an end-to-end talent acquisition solution that accelerates sourcing, hiring, onboarding and diversity-focused recruiting.

Colorado-based UPSKLS has acquired United Kingdom–based Work Simplr Ltd and will adopt the Work Simplr name for the combined business. The deal combines UPSKLS's on-demand work sourcing capabilities with Work Simplr's virtual internship hosting and project-management technology to create an on-demand work platform for organizations and higher-education partners.

Gun.io, a Nashville-based talent marketplace for software developers, raised $5.2 million from Ballast Point Ventures in August 2022. The growth equity investment will be used to accelerate product and platform improvements to enhance the hiring experience for Gun.io's developer community and hirers.

Tandym Group has acquired Boston-based Longford & Company, a technology consulting and executive search firm serving the life sciences and pharmaceutical sectors. The deal expands Tandym's technology vertical (Tandym Tech) and broadens its capabilities and client reach nationally; Tandym is backed by Mill Rock Capital.

Aliter Capital LLP has completed an investment in Dudley-based Concept Resourcing, establishing the business as a platform for growth in the UK technology recruitment and field engineering resourcing market. Founder and majority shareholder Chris Short is exiting while managing director Matt Gillen remains to lead organic and acquisitive expansion supported by Aliter.