Houlihan Lokey Advises Impellam Group

Houlihan Lokey is pleased to announce that AIM-listed Impellam Group PLC (AIM:IPEL; Impellam), a leading global workforce and specialist recruitment solutions group, has been acquired by HeadFirst Global B.V. (HeadFirst), a portfolio company of IceLake Capital Management B.V., in a recommended takeover. Under the terms of the acquisition, Impellam shareholders are entitled to a consideration and dividends totalling, in aggregate, 1,084.4 pence per share. The total shareholder proceeds value the entire issued share capital of Impellam at approximately £483.2 million.

Impellam Group is a connected group providing global workforce and specialist recruitment services, with operations spanning across the U.K., Europe, North America, and the Asia-Pacific region. The company operates through its integrated and collaborative Global Managed Services and STEM divisions and provides specialised solutions via multiple brands, including Guidant Global and Comensura (GMS), as well as Carbon60, SRG, Lorien, and Bartech (STEM).

On 3 March 2023, Impellam completed the disposal of two non-core operating divisions—Regional Specialist Staffing and Healthcare. Houlihan Lokey also acted as the lead advisor to Impellam on that transaction.

Founded in 1995, Netherlands-based Headfirst Global is a pan-European provider of HR technology solutions serving clients across continental Europe. IceLake provided capital to HeadFirst in 2022 to further support and accelerate growth and became its majority investor. The integration of Impellam will provide synergistic growth opportunities and allow HeadFirst to expand its presence worldwide.

Houlihan Lokey served as the exclusive financial and Rule 3 advisor to Impellam in a transaction that exemplifies the continued success of Houlihan Lokey’s expertise in the execution of transactions involving U.K.-listed companies.

Commenting on the Acquisition, Lord Ashcroft, Chairman and majority shareholder of Impellam, said:

“I am delighted that the acquisition consideration per Impellam share, the dividends that have been declared whilst the company has been in an offer period, and the dividends that the Impellam board intends to declare before the acquisition completes altogether total nearly £13 per Impellam share, three times the closing price of £4.26 per Impellam share on 11 April 2022, the day before I announced my intention to sell my shareholding. On completion of the acquisition, not only will significant value have been created for Impellam shareholders, but the combined strengths of Impellam and HeadFirst will create a market-leading, more digitally enabled, diverse service offering with increased geographic reach that will benefit all our global colleagues, customers, candidates, and suppliers.”

Houlihan Lokey’s Human Capital Management team is among the most active M&A advisors in the market, having closed 23 HCM transactions in the past 36 months. This most recent transaction further strengthens Houlihan Lokey’s leadership in the business services universe and highlights continued momentum and leadership in the HCM sector, which includes staffing, recruitment, VMS, MSP, RPO, talent management, and PEO.