NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN, INTO OR FROM ANY JURISDICTION WHERE TO DO SO WOULD CONSTITUTE A VIOLATION OF THE RELEVANT LAWS OR REGULATIONS OF SUCH JURISDICTION.

HeadFirst Group ("HeadFirst") and Impellam Group ("Impellam") announce that they have reached agreement on HeadFirst's acquisition of Impellam. They are joining forces to form a leading global player in MSP and talent management. The combination, with over €7 billion in revenue (managed spend, by 2022), will enable accelerated growth opportunities in Europe, UK, North America and APAC.

For HeadFirst, Impellam represents an attractive opportunity to invest in one of the world's market-leading Managed Services Providers and a leading group of companies specializing in recruitment for STEM (data, life sciences, tech & engineering) professionals. There is a clear strategic rationale for the combination of HeadFirst and Impellam that is expected to deliver the following benefits

  • highly complementary geographic coverage, with limited to no overlap, creates a larger group with a strong presence in continental Europe, the United Kingdom, North America and APAC, which can benefit clients with a larger, global, geographic spread;
  • complementary skills and expertise create significant opportunities for our clients and for cross-selling our services;
  • HeadFirst Group's strong technology, data and digital platforms provide an opportunity to further improve operational and business performance within the larger group;
  • a strong combined management team can continue to deliver on the long-term strategy of a larger group;
  • more career opportunities for colleagues within the larger group.

Julia Robertson, CEO at Impellam Group, says: "We look forward to joining forces with HeadFirst to create a larger, more digital and diverse service offering with greater geographic reach. The combined strength of market-leading brands, cultures and people - balanced with technology from the expanded group - enables us to even better support our clients with their workforce management challenges across the UK, Europe, North America and APAC. At the same time, it provides more career opportunities for colleagues."

Han Kolff, Chairman of the board at HeadFirst Group, commented, "This merger will be groundbreaking, building on the complementary strengths of Impellam and HeadFirst. Together, we will become a global leader in mission-critical talent, enabling us to serve our clients, suppliers and professionals in an unparalleled way. We have an exciting journey ahead of us with plenty of opportunities for our teams, deepening HR technology and expanding geographic reach further and faster."

 

Future management of the group
HeadFirst Group aims to bring Impellam Group's key executive management, namely Julia Robertson (current Chief Executive Officer of Impellam Group) and Tim Briant (current Chief Financial Officer of Impellam Group) to the board as Group CEO and CFO, respectively. They will work together with board members Marion van Happen, who will also continue as CEO of HeadFirst Group, and Han Kolff, who will be non-executive Chairman, and non-executive board members Koen Bekkering and Boyd Sleeman, to drive the future success and growth of the new group.

For now, there are no changes in the day-to-day business of Impellam Group and HeadFirst Group. Impellam and HeadFirst will continue to provide their services to clients, suppliers and professionals unchanged. The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2024.

An announcement with full details on the terms of the transaction can be read in full on the website 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 in fifteen European countries. The organization offers a diversity of HR solutions, such as Managed Service Providing, Recruitment Process Outsourcing, intermediary services (matchmaking, contracting) and HR consulting. More than 25 thousand professionals work for over five hundred clients in Europe, with which HeadFirst Group realizes an annual turnover of over two billion euros. The main brands of HeadFirst Group are the MSP (including intermediary services) labels HeadFirst, Between and Staffing Management Services, RPO and recruitment specialist Sterksen, IT talent sourcer StarApple and the Belgian HR technology company ProUnity.

 

About Impellam Group
Impellam Group is the holding company of a group of diverse, integrated labor market service providers in STEM talent (data, life sciences, tech & engineering), providing workforce solutions, talent management and recruitment and selection of professionals globally across various industry sectors and key end markets. Impellam Group's two main operating divisions provide the following services: 1) Global Managed Services ("GMS"): complete workforce solutions through multidisciplinary management of the overall talent process and 2) STEM: MSP, RPO, contracting, permanent employment and SOW workforce solutions focused on IT and digital specialists, data experts, scientists, clinicians and engineers. Impellam Group's divisions operate under several brand names, including Guidant Global and Comensura (GMS), as well as Carbon60, SRG, Lorien and Bartech (STEM).

On March 3, 2023, Impellam completed the sale of two previous operating divisions - Regional Specialist Staffing and Healthcare - allowing Impellam Group to now focus on its core GMS and STEM divisions, where the Impellam Board of Directors expects higher returns from attractive growth markets, significantly improved revenue visibility and improved conversions

 

Note to editors
Do you have any questions or comments in response to this press release? Please contact Bart van der Geest, spokesman at HeadFirst Group, at +31 (0)6 - 15 89 95 74 or bart.vandergeest@headfirst.nl. Or Kirsty Tranter, global head of communications at Impellam Group, at kirstytranter@impellam.com.

 

Supplemental Information
This announcement is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be - and does not constitute - an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy or subscribe for securities, or a solicitation of a vote or approval in any jurisdiction pursuant to the acquisition described above or otherwise. This announcement does not constitute a prospectus or a document equivalent to a prospectus.

Copies of this announcement and any formal documentation relating to the Acquisition are not, and may not, be directly or indirectly transmitted or otherwise forwarded, disseminated 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) may not transmit or otherwise forward, disseminate or send such documents in or into or from such jurisdiction.