HeadFirst Group and Impellam Group today announced they have officially joined. The announcement helps cap a process that began in July 2023, when Impellam announced it had entered talks to be acquired. 

The combined company has €8 billion (US$8.70 billion) in spend under management, 2,100 internal workers and more than 75,000 professionals serving customers, the firms said in their announcement today. 

“We are proud to have brought industry leaders HeadFirst and Impellam together,” Han Kolff, chairman of the combined company, said in a press release. “As well as vast geographic reach, our expanded group combines world-class expertise and market-leading tech, providing customers with mission critical talent, hereby creating a unique platform for growth in a growing market.” 

The transaction values the issued share capital of Impellam at approximately £483.2 million (US$614.9 million), according to reports.  

In an earlier report, the firms said the benefits of the deal include: 

• A complementary geographic footprint with limited or no overlap. 
• Complementary skill sets creating cross-selling and customer value. 
• The ability to capitalize on HeadFirst’s digital data platform to increase performance across the combined company. 
• A strong combined management team. 
• Greater career opportunities for internal workers. 

“We have an exciting future ahead of us. In a world where talent and tech must come together to build better businesses, we will collaborate to leverage the combined strength and capability of our market-leading brands, our people and our distinctive technology,” Julia Robertson, CEO of Impellam and the combined company.  

Lord Michael Ashcroft, the former majority shareholder of Impellam Group, will serve as nonexecutive director. 

No immediate changes to the day-to-day operations are planned. In addition, the company said in an email to SIA that there are no planned changes to branding. 

HeadFirst’s products and services include MSP, RPO, IT recruitment and a VMS. It has more than 25,000 professionals at work for more than 500 customers in Europe. It’s based in Hoofddorp, Netherlands, and had revenue in 2023 of more than €2.5 billion (US$2.76 billion). Its brands include HeadFirst, Between, Staffing Management Services Sterksen, StarApple and VMS ProUnity. 

Impellam, based in Luton, UK, provides MSP and STEM staffing, and it operates in UK, North America and Asia Pacific. Its brands include Comensura, Guidant Global, SRG, Lorien, Carbon60 and Bartech.