SFN Acquisition Deal Closing Creates Third Largest HR Services Provider in North America

BOSTON, September 6, 2011 – With the U.S. HR services industry at $102 billion, Randstad has claimed a top three position in the HR services provider market with its recent acquisition of SFN Group. The acquisition deal, which closed late last week, will propel Randstad’s leadership position in key staffing segments, including the administrative, industrial, IT, and finance and accounting industries, among others.

The combined company will have more than 5,000 employees operating from more than 1,000 locations across North America. For customers, the deal will enable expanded access to a broader portfolio of strategic staffing services with specialized local market and industry expertise to ensure the right match between employers and job seekers.

“Today’s economy and labor market requires that companies take a new approach to identify the right staffing strategy across all levels of the organization to drive growth,” said Gregory A. Netland, executive board member responsible for the North American Zone. “As companies increasingly look for strategic staffing resources, Randstad is creating a powerful growth engine in the staffing industry that provides continual access to intelligence and insights that help companies hire not just for a specific need, but for impact.”

With the acquisition of SFN, Randstad now has an unrivaled portfolio in the staffing industry. Specific highlights include:

  • Leader in professional staffing segment in key industries such as engineering, healthcare, legal, IT and finance and accounting
  • Top position in office and administration, manufacturing and logistics segments
  • Leader in recruitment process outsourcing
  • Strengthened geographic coverage with an additional 560 locations in North America
  • Unique in-house service offering
  • Enhanced recruiting ability and service  offerings

The SFN acquisition builds on both Randstad’s professional and general staffing capabilities. Randstad projects that its professional side, which puts IT specialists, accountants, engineers, doctors, lawyers, among others, will account for 39 percent of its combined revenues. The company estimates another 52 percent will come from staffing and nine percent will be HR solutions (payrolling, managed services, recruitment process outsourcing). The combined revenues are estimated at $22 billion.

“Due to the dynamic economy, increased competition for the right talent and the higher stakes for success, both companies and candidates need access to a wider range of staffing solutions, expertise and intelligence,” continued Netland. “We will now be an unparalleled source of comprehensive staffing services and innovative solutions to help more companies and candidates reach their goals today and tomorrow. This is how we will continue to shape the world of work.”

Together with SFN Group, Randstad estimates they will put more than 100,000 people to work in the North America each week.

Randstad is executing integration strategies and plans to roll out its expanded portfolio of services over the next few months. For more information on Randstad, visit www.randstadusa.com.

About Randstad US

Randstad US is a wholly owned subsidiary of Randstad Holding nv, an $18.8 billion global provider of HR services and the second largest staffing organization in the world. The company plays a pivotal role in shaping the world of work, leveraging the true value of human capital for the benefit of our clients, candidates, employees and investors.

Randstad offers a comprehensive range of HR services to our clients. They provide temporary, temporary-to-hire, direct hire and outsourced placement services for local and global customers and fulfill all aspects of commercial and professional staffing within Finance & Accounting, Office & Administration, Engineering, Healthcare, IT, Legal, Life Sciences, and Manufacturing & Logistics. Other offerings include payrolling, managed services, recruitment process outsourcing and HR consulting solutions.

Randstad provides skills assessments, career counseling, training, health coverage and 401(k) to eligible internal and external employees. With its 5,000 employment experts, Randstad puts more than 100,000 people to work in North America each week, through its network of more than a thousand branches and client-dedicated locations.

More information is available at the company’s website, www.randstadusa.com.