As the staffing industry continues to benefit from a positive operating environment across most industry sectors, owners continue to capitalize on their strong financial performance by realizing value through either a company sale or recapitalization transaction.
Noticeably absent from recent M&A activity are most of the public staffing companies, as staffing industry acquisition activity remains primarily driven by lesser-known, privately-held buyers.
Strategic buyers accounted for 94% of the staffing industry acquisitions in the first half of 2019, with private equity funds (financial buyers) investing in a new platform acquisition accounting for the other 6% of transactions.
– Financial investors acquired four new platform staffing investments in the first half of 2019, following the 28 new investments in each of 2018 and 2017.
Professional staffing companies (including IT, digital/creative, healthcare and life sciences) continue to see the most widespread demand from buyers and investors.
Buyers continue to have very specific criteria as they evaluate acquisition targets. Acquirers desire companies with a strong blend of both recurring revenue growth and profitability, with significant attention paid to customer diversification and the gross margin impact of potential acquisitions. Proven management teams desiring to stay on post-transaction also remain highly sought after.
Staffing Industry Insights – Summer 2019.pdf (0.9) MB
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