At the end of December, Recruit Co. Ltd. announced that it had acquired the U.S. and European operations of Advantage Resourcing for $410 million. This deal will result in Advantage Resourcing divesting most of its non-Japanese operations.
Recruit conducts comprehensive staffing services and information services and has been operating a U.S. staffing business through The CSI Companies, Inc., a U.S. provider of staffing solutions that it acquired in July 2010. The company also acquired Staffmark in October. Staffmark ranked as the 14th-largest U.S. staffing firm, and the deal with Recruit gave it an enterprise value of $295 million. Advantage Resourcing ranks 11th on Staffing Industry Analysts’ 2011 list of largest global staffing firms.
According to a press release from Recruit,
Because certain achievements have been attained in managing CSI, we decided to expand our staffing services operations in the U.S. and in October 2011 acquired the shares of Staffmark Holdings, Inc., which has more than 300 offices in 30 U.S. states.In order to further accelerate and expand this effort, we are pleased to acquire ARA which operates 239 offices in 34 states in the U.S. and ARE which operates 22 offices in Europe and additional offices in Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore and Dubai. By combining our staffing services knowhow in Japan and the U.S. with the Global operational expertise and client base of ARA and ARE, we aim to provide global services spanning 5 continents including North America, South America, Europe, Asia and Australia.
Leveraging our success in Japan, we will provide a broader range of client services and employment opportunities to help create an affluent society and provide each and every person a vigorous life. We will deliver services to “meet your opportunity” tailored to each person around the world.
Formerly called Radia Holdings Inc., Advantage Resourcing changed its name in early 2010 and divided into four groups: Advantage xPO, Advantage Technical Resourcing, Advantage Professional and Advantage Staffing. Among Advantage’s Japan brands are technical staffing providers Ctec, Technopro, CSI, Science, N&C, and Technopro-China. Advantage will keep its operations in Japan and will be part of the holding company Prompt Holdings. Its Advantage Federal operations, which provide staffing, including security-cleared personnel, to firms serving the U.S. government, will remain in the U.S. In Japan, Charles Abadie, Advantage chairman and CEO, will continue overseeing the operations under Prompt Holdings.
“This transaction provides great value for our investors, clients and employees and the culture, growth and success of Advantage International was a good match for Recruit,” Abadie said.
With this deal, Recruit will get the U.S. and European businesses of Advantage Resourcing as well as operations in Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia, and Dubai. According to StaffingIndustry.com, the business lines posted revenue of approximately $1.4 billion in their fiscal year ended June 30, 2011. The lines also included 250 locations along with 22,000 employees at more than 6,000 clients.