Several SIA analysts focused on trends in mergers and acquisitions as they wrapped up research for the first half of 2023. Recently published reports include companies looking to acquire staffing and workforce solutions firms as well as an interactive tool that contains a database of mergers and acquisitions of companies in the staffing and workforce solutions industry. In spite of high inflation and rising interest rates in the second half of the year, mergers and acquisitions staffing activity rose to record levels in 2022 with 139 publicly announced M&A transactions involving North American-based staffing firms, according to SIA’s Merger and Acquisition Trends: North America 2023 Update report.
An analysis of staffing firm preferences for acquiring companies identified healthcare and information technology as the most targeted staffing segments with 59% of companies reporting healthcare or IT as a first preference. Of the 280 surveyed staffing firms that identified the US as a country of preference, the Northeast was the most preferred target region, followed by the Midwest. Across all regions, except for the West, the healthcare segment was the most preferred staffing segment.
In addition to staffing firm M&A activity, 120 “staffing-related” acquisitions took place in 2022. “Staffing related” refers to companies that are not staffing firms but who participate in adjacent areas of the workforce solutions ecosystem. Talent acquisition technology was the most targeted staffing-related segment with 41 deals, followed by direct work engagement at 19 deals. Of the 104 unique buyers of staffing-related companies, 77% were private companies, 19% were public companies, and the remaining 4% of buyers were private equity funds. For more insight into M&A trends, SIA corporate members can read the full M&A trend report.
To learn more about M&A activity in the healthcare staffing industry, SIA corporate members are encouraged to utilize the database of mergers and acquisitions as a tool to identify trends in recent mergers and acquisitions involving staffing and workforce solutions companies. The database is easily searchable by company name, location, staffing segment, purchase price (when available) and transaction date. In addition, SIA’s Companies Looking to Acquire Staffing and Workforce Solutions Firms report provides a list of companies to aid in acquisition growth strategy by increasing awareness of acquisition preferences. With the continued interest in the healthcare industry and the additional firms entering the sector, SIA’s M&A resources can provide staffing firms an opportunity to stay on top of the latest trends.
