The Adecco Group, the world’s largest staffing firm, announced a definitive agreement to acquire General Assembly, a US-based technology education provider.

The total enterprise value of the deal, which includes debt, is €335 million (USD 412.5 million).

The Adecco Group stated that the acquisition will position them as a leader in the fast-growing up-/re-skilling segment, complementing existing solutions and creating significant synergies in Talent Development & Career Transition and Professional Staffing & Solutions.

“Our clients are looking for partners to improve access to scarce 21st-century skills and help navigate workforce transformation,” Alain Dehaze, CEO of the Adecco Group, said. “Demand for digital skills is growing but supply remains constrained.”

“By offering General Assembly’s services alongside the group’s existing talent development, career transition and professional staffing solutions we will be able to better respond to these client needs, enhancing both access to and the supply of the most in-demand skills. We look forward to working with the General Assembly team to build a dynamic and unique business together,” Dehaze said.

Founded in 2011, General Assembly offers employer-focused, practitioner-taught technical skills training and development in business-critical areas such as coding, data science, user experience design and digital marketing. Its full-time immersive and part-time courses are delivered by instructors across an international network of 20 campuses, at enterprise client sites, online or via a blended model. Locations across the US are complemented by international campuses in London, Hong Kong, Singapore, Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney.

General Assembly will continue to operate as a separate division within the Adecco Group under the leadership of founder and CEO Jake Schwartz and his team, reporting to Sergio Picarelli, Member of the Executive Committee of the Adecco Group.

Jake Schwartz commented, “As our work with employers has grown, so has our need to connect in a deeper way with the world of human capital, and that is why we are so excited about the transformational opportunities that come with this partnership. We chose the Adecco Group because it brings a multitude of strategic opportunities to serve enterprise clients, solve pervasive digital skills gaps, and align our offerings with the world-class brands that comprise the Adecco Group network.”

“For 2018, General Assembly is on track to achieve strong double-digit organic revenue growth,” Adecco Group stated. “General Assembly is currently in a high-growth investment phase and is therefore expected to be modestly dilutive to Group earnings in 2018, the impact of which is included within the group’s current guidance on planned strategic investments.”

The Adecco Group added that. from 2019, General Assembly is expected to be modestly accretive to earnings.

“In the medium-term General Assembly’s EBITA margins are anticipated to be significantly higher than the group average,” the Adecco Group stated. “The acquisition is expected to be Economic Value Added positive within three years, in-line with the Group’s M&A criteria, and will create substantial long-term value for shareholders.”

Revenues over the last three years for General Assembly have grown at a compound annual growth rate of 30%.

“Significant synergies exist with the Adecco Group’s current solutions portfolio. In particular, leveraging General Assembly’s complementary training services to enhance the value proposition of Lee Hecht Harrison’s leading career transition and talent development solutions will further broaden the group’s workforce transformation capabilities,” the Adecco Group stated.

The transaction will be financed from the group’s existing financing resources and is subject to customary closing conditions, including certain regulatory approvals. It is expected to close during Q2 2018

Analysts from Swiss bank Zuercher Kantonalbank told Reuters that they were not expecting a big market reaction to the deal, as the deal represents less than 1% of the company’s full year revenue for 2017.

“The takeover price is high,” Zuercher Kantonalbank stated. “However, there is a significant synergy potential and the growth profile of Adecco is slightly improved.”

Earlier this year, the Adecco Group acquired Vettery, a US-based online recruitment platform for professional permanent recruitment.