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Staffing firm acquisitions rise 60% in second half

February 01, 2013

The number of publicly announced U.S. staffing firm acquisitions rose to 40 in the second half 2012, up 60 percent from the 25 announced in the second half of 2011, according to new research from Staffing Industry Analysts. However, the numbers were still below pre-recession levels.

Thirty percent of the acquisitions in the second half were information technology staffing firms, 28 percent were commercial staffing firms and 14 percent were healthcare staffing firms.

For full-year 2012, the number of publicly announced staffing acquisitions was up 61 percent from the previous year.

Aside from publicly announced acquisitions, data from Staffing Industry Analysts’ Pulse Survey indicated a relatively steady flow of acquisitions in line with levels seen since the end of 2010. The Pulse Survey data are more representative of smaller, private acquisitions. From November 2011 to November 2012, an average of 2.5 percent of staffing firms surveyed reported closing an acquisition, according to Pulse Survey data.

Theo Vadpey, author of the report, said the data on publicly announced acquisitions and data from the Pulse survey differed in both segments acquired and quantity acquired when it came to the second half of 2012.

“Pulse was mostly industrial this time, while the publicly announced deals were weighted toward IT,” Vadpey said. “In the first half of 2012, Pulse and the public announcements were much more aligned.”

More information on reports by Staffing Industry Analysts can be found at www.staffingindustry.com. Corporate members of Staffing Industry Analysts can access the full version of this report, by clicking here.