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View All NewsJapan – Recruit identifies 100 potential takeover targets
Recruit Holdings Co. (6098: JP), Japan’s largest staffing firm, following the completion of its initial public offering earlier this month, has reportedly identified approximately 100 global companies as potential takeover targets, reports Bloomberg.
The Tokyo-based company has the capacity to spend about JPY 700 billion (USD 6.5 billion) on acquisitions over the next three to five years, according to the company’s Chief Executive Officer Masumi Minegishi.
Shares in Recruit have risen by just over +15% since it began trading on 16 October, boosting its market value to JPY 2.1 trillion (USD 19.5 billion). The company is seeking acquisitions in North America, Europe, and Australia to compete with peers including Adecco, Randstad, and ManpowerGroup.
“I suppose the size of each acquisition will exceed JPY 100 billion (USD 929.2 million),” Mr Minegishi explained. “We’re communicating with several companies that share the same vision as Recruit to consider the next step,” he added, declining to name the target companies.
Given the amount it has to spend and its declared minimum threshold, it is clear that Recruit is targeting investments among the top twenty staffing firms globally which will lead to feverish speculation over the coming months.
The company raised JPY 197 billion (USD 1.8 billion) with its owners this month in Japan’s second-biggest IPO this year, following Japan Display Inc. an LCD joint technology venture between Sony, Toshiba, and Hitachi in a JPY 319 billion (USD 3 billion) offering in March.
The company expects to obtain an “A” credit rating from a Japanese rating company, which would allow it to raise funds without issuing new shares, Mr Minegishi stated.
In trading today, the company’s share price closed down -0.8% at JPY 3,620 (USD 33.64).