Humanforce Holdings is moving ahead with an on-market takeover bid to acquire direct-sourcing provider LiveHire (LVH:ASX), according to regulatory filings on 14 August. Humanforce already holds 19.99% of shares in Melbourne, Australia-based LiveHire.

An on-market takeover bid is a procedure under Chapter 6 of the Australian Corporations Act under which a bidder appoints a stockbroker to stand in the market on ASX and purchase target securities on behalf of the bidder.

The two companies entered into a bid implementation agreement on 14 August and LiveHire’s board unanimously recommends shareholders accept the offer.

Humanforce is offering AUD 0.045 (USD 0.030) cash per share. The amount represents an 87.5% premium to the closing share price of AUD 0.024 (USD 0.016) on 13 August.

LiveHire’s offerings — which include ATS, recruit CRM, direct sourcing and AI-powered talent pooling — “are highly complementary” to Humanforce’s offering, CEO Clayton Pyne said in a regulatory filing.

Humanforce, based in Sydney, provides workforce management technology that handles scheduling, time and attendance, performance management and more. It’s a portfolio company of private equity firm Accel-KKR Growth Capital Partners.

The goal in the on-market takeover bid is for Humanforce to reach 90% ownership for compulsory acquisition.

LiveHire was founded in 2011. The company reported revenue fell 11% year over year in the half-year ended 31 December 2023 to AUD 3.5 million (USD 2.4 million). It reported a net loss after tax of AUD 4.6 million (USD 3.1 million).

LiveHire would no longer be a publicly traded company after the deal.

“We don’t expect any changes to the client experience with us,” LiveHire said in a statement. “The Humanforce and LiveHire technologies are extremely complementary, and if/when the acquisition completes, we simply will have more financial backing and private investment to continue innovating for all of our clients.”