Heidrick & Struggles to Acquire Amrop Denmark, Creating Market Leader Position

September 29, 2017 – Acquisitions continue to make news within the executive search industry. Among them, Heidrick & Struggles recently entered into an agreement to acquire Amrop Denmark. The deal is estimated at $8.4 million, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The acquisition is expected to close Dec. 31.

All five Amrop Denmark partners are expected to join Heidricks’ Copenhagen office as partners. With nine client-facing consultants and a total of 37 employees, the combined organization is expected to become the largest leadership advisory firm in the Danish market.

“Together with our consultants based in Helsinki and Stockholm, our newly expanded Copenhagen-based team will serve clients throughout the Nordic region with strategic guidance to address their talent and leadership needs,” said Krishnan Rajagopalan, president and CEO of Heidrick. “Adding the Amrop Denmark team will further strengthen our ability to serve clients in the Nordic market with executive search and consulting services including organization and team effectiveness, leadership assessment and development, and culture shaping.”

Jan N. Lauridsen, managing partner of Heidrick & Struggles Nordic, said the acquisition will greatly benefit the firm’s clientele in the region. “Our new consultants are especially strong in financial services, fintech and technology broadly, industrial and the public sector, while our legacy Heidrick team is strong in the industrial, healthcare and life sciences, and consumer sectors,” he said. “Additionally, the leadership consulting expertise of the Amrop Denmark team will benefit from the industry-leading accelerating performance methodology and analytics that Heidrick has developed, helping us significantly expand our advisory capabilities throughout the Nordic region.”

Peter Christiansen, managing partner of Amrop Denmark, said the acquisition made sense for his firm as it allowed for a greater global reach. “More and more Danish companies want us to serve them outside Denmark in finding executives for their international operations,” he said. “The global footprint and integrated operations of Heidrick & Struggles provides us with an excellent opportunity to serve our clients in all parts of the world with consistency and high-quality service.”

Recent Search Firm Acquisitions

Executive search firms have seen a rise in acquisitions this year. Activity, in fact, seems heightened across the board:

London-based executive recruitment firm Sheffield Haworth acquired nbi Consulting, a specialist global executive search and talent management firm in the business and professional services sector. As part of the acquisition, nbi will become part of Sheffield Haworth’s global business and professional services practice.

DHR International has acquired boutique executive search firm COOPER+LOGAN. With the addition of two new managing partners, the acquisition strengthens DHR’s retail/fashion industry and functional expertise. COOPER+LOGAN, founded in 2008, specializes in the selection of senior-level design, merchandising and creative services candidates for “brand-centric” clients. 

Global recruiter Ward Howell International has acquired Curran Partners, a Stamford, CT-based executive search firm with a concentration in the life sciences, among other sectors it serves. Founded in 1989, Curran Partners became the U.S. member of ECI Group, an international network, in 2003.

Global financial recruiting specialist Options Group acquired MCL Search Ltd, an executive search firm based in London specializing in electronic markets (trading and distribution), prime brokerage/ clearing and financial trading technology with a focus on currencies and fixed income. Founding partners, Maria Aldous and Charlotte Battisti, bring a combined 25 years in executive search.

Focus Search Partners (FSP), the executive search division of talent solutions provider Vaco, has acquired the Dallas, TX-based recruiters Taylor Winfield. With the acquisition, FSP gains a team of professionals with enterprise operating experience across industries including Internet/ digital media, technology/ SaaS software, consumer/ retail/ food service and business services.

ZRG Partners acquired life sciences specialist HM Long Global Partners. As part of the asset acquisition agreement, Helga Long, formerly the chair and CEO of HM Long/ RSVP Group, joined ZRG Partners. Ms. Long is considered one of the world’s top executive search professionals in life sciences.

Jordan Search Consultants, a recruiting firm focused on the healthcare, executive and higher education sectors, acquired Health Search New England (HSNE), a search firm specializing in the recruitment of healthcare providers throughout the Northeast. Financial terms of the deal were undisclosed.

Acertitude acquired Los Angeles-based Olive Avenue Search Partners. Olive Avenue’s founders, Gwen Sabo and Joann Maciejewski, bring deep expertise in the development of research capabilities, training and development, and identifying and engaging top talent. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Ohio-headquartered Torch Group acquired Selker Leadership, a search firm that places candidates in the technology and software fields. Selker Leadership’s president, Gregory L. Selker, will join Torch Group as senior vice president and search operations leader, overseeing the firm’s search practice, including research and candidate development.

Buffkin/ Baker recently merged New York-based WTW Associates into its expanding executive recruiting platform. WTW, a talent provider focused on the media, entertainment, technology and law industries, will integrate its operations into the Buffkin/ Baker New York office. Warren Wasp becomes a partner in the firm, and will head its entertainment/ media practice.

U.K.-based Hydrogen Group acquired Argyll Scott for £3.3 million. Together, the combined firms will deliver recruitment services across multiple functions, industries and countries. The acquisition allows Hydrogen to accelerate international growth plans and benefit from greater strength and depth in the London market.

Walter James recently acquired Euromedica Executive Search Limited. Walter James operates in the life sciences sector with a focus on global enabling units. The acquisition positions the firm to offer end-to-end specialist service across the entire life sciences value chain. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief; Dale M. Zupsansky, Managing Editor; Stephen Sawicki, Managing Editor; and Will Schatz, Managing Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media