Staffing & HR Acquisitions in Ohio

A&M Capital Partners, the private equity arm of Alvarez & Marsal Capital, has acquired Asurint, a provider of technology-enabled background screening solutions. Guidepost Growth Equity, which first invested in Asurint in 2017, sold all of its shares as part of the transaction; A&M plans to invest in the company’s technology and expand its service capabilities and M&A activity to drive growth.

Program Productions has acquired Barney Monk, a Cleveland-based provider of event staffing and employer-of-record payroll services, to expand its live-event labor and payroll capabilities across North America. The acquisition broadens Program Productions' family of companies and enhances its workforce management offering (including its ProCrewz technology) to better serve venues, tours, trade shows and corporate events.

ZRG has acquired Wiser Partners, a nearly 30-year-old boutique retained executive search firm focused on marketing, sales and go-to-market leadership. The acquisition expands ZRG's functional expertise in marketing, sales and analytics and gives Wiser access to ZRG's global platform; ZRG is backed by private equity investor RFE Investment Partners.

Elwood Staffing has acquired BelFlex Staffing Network, a Cincinnati-based commercial staffing firm, in a deal that closed Jan. 15. The acquisition adds 26 branch locations in 19 new markets, expanding Elwood's geographic footprint (including new presence in West Virginia and Arkansas) and broadening its commercial, skilled trades and professional staffing capabilities.

Chicago-based Surestaff, LLC, a partner company of Austin private equity firm Owner Resource Group (ORG), has acquired Cardinal Staffing, a northern Ohio / southern Michigan staffing firm founded in 1994. The add-on expands Surestaff's light-industrial, office/clerical and professional staffing footprint in the Midwest; key Cardinal executives will remain to support growth.

Bullhorn, the Boston‑based cloud software provider for staffing firms, has acquired Able, a Cleveland‑based provider of candidate engagement and onboarding solutions. The acquisition brings Able’s onboarding and compliance automation into Bullhorn’s platform to reduce candidate drop‑out, accelerate time‑to‑revenue for agencies, and deepen Bullhorn’s end‑to‑end staffing capabilities.

Aya Healthcare announced it will acquire the managed services (MSP) division of Dawson Healthcare, a family-owned workforce solutions company based in Columbus, Ohio. The deal (expected to close May 16, 2021) brings Dawson's whole-house MSP capabilities into Aya's platform to expand Aya's managed services offering and scale contingent workforce management for healthcare systems and non-clinical clients.

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.

Tradesmen International, a portfolio company of private equity funds managed by Blackstone Capital Partners, acquired Construction Labor Contractors (CLC) from Silver Oak Services Partners. CLC, headquartered in Richfield, Ohio, is a temporary staffing provider for skilled trades in the commercial construction market, operating 19 locations and serving clients nationwide; the deal is an add-on to Tradesmen’s platform to expand geographic coverage and capabilities.