Dutch intermediary and secondment agency BlueTrail Group has acquired Peoples Republic, a specialist in interim IT mediation, also based in the Netherlands.

The price of the transaction was not disclosed.

BlueTrail said the strategic acquisition fits within its growth strategy and marks an important step in further strengthening its position in the market for IT professionals.

Peoples Republic mediates 300 interim professionals annually. The group mediates IT professionals within education, healthcare, municipalities and the national government. The interim professionals operate at the intersection of business and IT and are mainly active in the education, healthcare and municipal sectors.

BlueTrail, based in Alphen aan den Rijn, mediates more than 400 interim professionals annually. The company focuses on highly educated interim IT professionals who are active in the public domain.

Bart Wille, CEO of BlueTrail Group, said in a press release, “We are very enthusiastic about the acquisition of Peoples Republic. We have come to know the management team led by Sander Gerritsen as very driven and quality-oriented. The synergies between the companies are enormous and the culture can be called identical. With this acquisition, we are not only expanding our range, but also increasing our geographical coverage and visibility. By sharing knowledge, I am convinced that together we will create an even stronger position within the flex market.”

Sander Gerritsen, founder of Peoples Republic, said, “I founded Peoples Republic in 2007, and I am very proud of what we have achieved since then. Last year, I was working on how we could further grow Peoples Republic as an organisation.”

“At the same time, I came into contact with Bart,” Gerritsen said. “In the conversations that followed, it quickly became clear to me that the development I had in mind for Peoples Republic had already been realised at BlueTrail. An extraordinary opportunity arose to work together. The proposition, culture and ambitions of both companies reinforce and complement each other perfectly. Now that this collaboration has become concrete through the acquisition of Peoples Republic, I see a multitude of possibilities and I look forward to entering this new phase together with Bart.”

On September 2023, Dutch investment firm Nordian announced that it had acquired a majority stake in intermediary and secondment agency BlueTrail Group BV from its current shareholder, the Zandvliet family, who founded the company in 2011.