HeadFirst Group confirms offer to acquire Impellam Group to create a market leading global workforce and STEM talent solutions provider.
HeadFirst Group (‘HeadFirst’) and Impellam Group (‘Impellam’) announce that they have reached an agreement for HeadFirst to acquire Impellam in order to bring together their strengths, to create a leading global player in MSP and mission-critical talent solutions. The combination, with over € 7 billion spend under management (in 2022), will unlock accelerated growth opportunities in North America, UK, Europe and APAC.
HeadFirst believes that Impellam represents an attractive opportunity to invest in one of the leading Managed Services Providers in the world and a leading STEM (data, life-sciences, tech & engineering) workforce and recruitment group in the UK. There is compelling strategic rationale for the combination between HeadFirst and Impellam which is expected to deliver the following benefits:
- a highly complementary geographic footprint, with limited to no overlap, creating a larger group with a strong presence across continental Europe, the UK, North America and APAC, benefiting customers with increased geographical coverage;
- allowing complementary skillsets and expertise to create substantial cross selling and customer value;
- capitalising on HeadFirst’s digital data platform to increase operational and business performance further across the enlarged group;
- creating a strong combined management team that will continue to deliver on the long-term strategy of the enlarged group; and
- providing greater career opportunities for colleagues across the larger company
Julia Robertson, CEO of Impellam Group, said: “We are looking forward to joining forces with HeadFirst to create a larger, more digitally enabled, and diverse service offering with increased geographic reach. The combined strength of market leading brands, cultures and people balanced with technology of the enlarged group will enhance our proposition to solve customers’ workforce challenges in the UK, Europe, North America and APAC whilst also providing greater career opportunities for colleagues.”
Han Kolff, Chairman of HeadFirst Group, comments: “This merger will be transformational, building on the complementary strengths of Impellam and HeadFirst. Together we will become a global leader in mission-critical talent enabling us to service our customers, suppliers and professionals in an unrivalled manner. A very exciting journey ahead with ample opportunities for our teams, leveraging HR tech depth and geographic reach further and faster.”
Future management for the group
HeadFirst envisages that the key executive management of Impellam, namely Julia Robertson (current Chief Executive Officer of Impellam) and Tim Briant (current Chief Financial Officer of Impellam) will join the board of directors as Group CEO and Group CFO, respectively. They will work alongside Board members Marion Van Happen, who will also continue as CEO of HeadFirst Group, Han Kolff, who will be non-executive Chairman, and non-executive Directors Koen Bekkering and Boyd Sleeman, to ensure the future success and growth of the enlarged group.
There are currently no changes to how Impellam Group and HeadFirst Group operate day to day. Impellam and HeadFirst will continue to deliver their services to customers, suppliers, and professionals. The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2024.
An announcement with full details of the terms and conditions of the transaction can be read in full at headfirst.group/takeover.
About HeadFirst Group
HeadFirst Group is a leading, international HR-tech service provider and the largest platform for professionals in the Benelux, operating across fifteen European countries. The organisation offers a wide range of HR solutions, such as Managed Service Providing, Recruitment Process Outsourcing, IT Sourcing & Recruitment and HR consultancy. More than twenty-five thousand professionals work for over five hundred clients in Europe, through which HeadFirst Group realises an annual revenue in 2022 of over two billion euros . The main brands of HeadFirst Group are MSP (including intermediary services) labels HeadFirst, Between and Staffing Management Services, RPO and recruitment specialist Sterksen, IT talent sourcer StarApple, and Belgian HR-tech company ProUnity.
About Impellam Group
Impellam is the holding company of a group of integrated, diversified workforce and STEM talent providers offering global workforce solutions, talent management and specialist recruitment across a variety of industry sectors and key end markets. Services provided by the Impellam Group’s two key operating divisions are as follows: Global Managed Services (“GMS”): multi-disciplinary management of the overall talent process to provide comprehensive workforce solutions; and STEM: MSP, RPO, contract, permanent and Statement Of Work workforce solutions focused on IT and digital specialists, data experts, scientists, clinicians, and engineers. Impellam’s divisions operate through multiple brands including Guidant Global and Comensura (GMS), as well as Carbon60, SRG, Lorien, and Bartech (STEM).
On 3 March 2023, Impellam completed the disposal of two previous operating divisions – Regional Specialist Staffing and Healthcare – which has allowed the Impellam Group to focus on its key GMS and STEM divisions, where the Impellam Board expects higher returns from attractive growth markets, significantly improved revenue visibility and improved conversions.
Note to editors
Do you have any questions or comments regarding this press release? Please contact Bart van der Geest, head of marketing & communication at HeadFirst Group, on +31(0)6 – 15 89 95 74 or bart.vandergeest@headfirst.nl or Kirsty Tranter, global head of communications at Impellam Group, on kirstytranter@impellam.com.
Further information
This announcement is for information purposes only and is not intended to and does not constitute, or form any part of, an offer to sell or an invitation to purchase or subscribe for any securities or the solicitation of any vote or approval in any jurisdiction pursuant to the acquisition described above or otherwise. This announcement does not constitute a prospectus or a prospectus equivalent document.
Copies of this announcement and any formal documentation relating to the acquisition are not being, and must not be, directly or indirectly, mailed or otherwise forwarded, distributed or sent in or into or from any jurisdiction where to do so would constitute a violation of the laws of such jurisdiction and persons receiving such documents (including custodians, nominees and trustees) must not mail or otherwise forward, distribute or send them in or into or from any such jurisdiction.
The fair forward manifesto ― In our hyper-connected world, organizations must design, create, and deploy innovative processes and experiences U The best talents must join forces beyond backgrounds, borders, or contract R forms. We have to move fair forward together, in a world of work where only excellence, agility and enthusiasm count Y, and the best talent wins.
Fair ⎯ Organizations must align talent on the basis of fairness.
More becomes possible when you work together regardless of backgrounds, borders, or contract forms.
It makes organizations happier and healthier. They carry forward business and society with more power and value. Fairness is essential throughout the process, from creating a job opportunity to selection, contracting, collaboration, billing and payment. In a balanced demand and supply ecology, this works both ways, with exact and honest offerings met by precise proposed candidates.
Forward ⎯ Share the entrepreneurial spirit of corporate leaders.
Boost results and sustainable growth through participation and cooperation.
We say what we do and do what we say. Every insight, idea and action is aligned to forward the users’ current and future business needs and economic viability. As an innovator, we naturally focus on technological feasibility in this effort. ProUnity’s delivery extends beyond efficient implementation, pushing platform features to their limits in custom solutions. Our engine runs like clockwork, and our in-house developments add top value.
Together ⎯ Work with clients as one team.
Adopt a one-team-approach to scale value creation across clients and their users.
We become faster, stronger, and more confident as HR-Tech innovators by clear communication, proven agile collaboration methods, shared tools and data. They allows us to fluently fuse external talent, service partners and clients in one ecosystem.
By sharing expertise, strategic and practical advice, our work and life become better. Together is the key word for great results, guided by practical and economical sense, while avoiding risks.