CWS 3.0: November 5, 2014

Print

The M&A saga continues: VMS & MSP provider acquired

Investment firm Investcorp acquired PRO Unlimited — which offers VMS, MSP and independent contractor compliance/payrolling services — in a deal announced last week. The deal was within the mid-market range in which Investcorp operates of around $300 million to $400 million, according to Investcorp.

Everyone on the PRO Unlimited executive management team also now has an equity investment in the company.

“Investcorp is the ideal partner for us; their guidance and financial wherewithal will allow us to expand on our industry leading technology as well as grow our international presence,” said PRO co-founder and CEO Andrew Schultz.

PRO offers its MSP under the PRO Unlimited Inc. brand, and its VMS operates under the brands Wand, Wand Mobile and Wand Tablet. PRO ranked as the second-largest MSP in terms of statement-of-work spend among VMS and MSP firms taking part in the 2014 VMS and MSP Supplier Competitive Landscape report by Staffing Industry Analysts.

Boca Raton, Fla.-based PRO began in 1991, operates in 52 countries and has approximately 600 employees.

“Over the past few decades, changing workforce dynamics have shifted the use of contingent workers from purely tactical to strategic in nature, particularly for high-end knowledge workers,” said Investcorp Managing Director Maud Brown. “PRO’s integrated approach provides a higher level of insight and customer service to its blue-chip customer base, which includes several of the Global 1000 companies.”

There were other VMS acquisitions this year, including SAP’s acquisition of Fieldglass and IQNavigator buying ProcureStaff.

PRO was previously owned by Boston-based private equity firm ABRY Partners. Earlier, PRO was part of Comforce, a publicly traded staffing firm that was acquired by ABRY in late 2010.

“The transactions in the space indicate continuing interest by financial markets, demonstrating there is a lot of opportunity left in the segment,” said Bryan Peña, VP, contingent workforce strategies and research, at Staffing Industry Analysts.

Investcorp began in 1982 and is aimed at helping high net-worth individuals and institutions in the Gulf states invest in the West, according to its website. Another investment firm, Mumtalakat, is a minority investor.