PE Firm Trivest Sells Workforce Solutions Provider PeopleShare
May 16, 2023 – Trivest Partners LP, a private equity firm focused on investing in founder and family-owned businesses, announced that Trivest Fund V, along with PeopleShare co-founders Dave Donald and Ryan Clark and its employee shareholders, have completed the sale of its portfolio company PeopleShare to PROMAN, the U.S. based subsidiary of Groupe PROMAN. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Mr. Clark, who is CEO, and Mr. Donald, currently serving as senior advisor, will continue to lead PeopleShare and will work with PROMAN CEO Gilles Tanneur to further strengthen PROMAN’s U.S. presence.
“We selected Trivest as our partner over several other parties because we had confidence in their unmatched reputation for working with and growing founder-led businesses,” said Mr. Donald. “Trivest supported our ambitions fully to aggressively expand our business to new markets while preserving the unique office model and go-to-market strategies that defined our business,” said Mr. Clark.
It was important for us to partner with a company that was the right fit culturally, and one that shared our vision for growth,” Mr. Clark said. “We’re eager for our team to become part of the PROMAN family.”
“Dave and Ryan and their team were great partners and executed on every aspect of Trivest’s Path to 3x value creation program,” said Steve Reynolds, partner at Trivest. “We thank them for their dedication to creating a great outcome for all involved, and we look forward to watching PeopleShare’s continued growth story as part of the PROMAN family.”
Headquartered in Collegeville, PA, PeopleShare is a provider of commercial temporary staffing services in the eastern U.S. From its 40 branches in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Illinois, the company provides temporary, temp-to-hire and contingent workforce solutions for light industrial and office and clerical positions.
Tripled Growth
During its partnership with Trivest, the company more than tripled its number of branches through new openings and acquisitions, while entering five new states. After navigating the COVID-19 pandemic, the company continued its expansion plans in 2022 by entering another new market, North Carolina, and achieving record revenue and earnings.
Citizens M&A Advisory served as the exclusive financial advisor to PeopleShare on the sale transaction, and Holland & Knight LLP served as PeopleShare’s legal counsel.
Trivest Partners LP is a private investment firm headquartered in Miami with regional presence in Charlotte, Chicago, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and Toronto, that focuses exclusively on the support and growth of founder-led and family-owned businesses in the U.S. and Canada in both control and non-control transactions. Since its founding in 1981, Trivest has completed more than 500 investments, totaling nearly $8 billion in value.
Recent Deals
Acquisitions and consolidations continue to make news in the recruiting industry, with a number of notable purchases in recent months. And it’s not just executive search firms. Technology-based outfits have also been in on the action. Here is a sampling from the Hunt Scanlon Media archives:
HireRight, a global provider of on-demand employment screening solutions and workforce solutions, has acquired Inquiro Vitae, a background screening provider based in Argentina. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. The acquisition is designed to allow more targeted local support for its customers hiring not only in Argentina, but across Latin America. “We are thrilled to expand our footprint into Argentina to help better serve our customers operating throughout Latin America,” said Guy Abramo, president and CEO of HireRight. “We understand the significance of local expertise when conducting employment background checks and believe that our local presence in Argentina will help set us apart from other global screening providers and open the door for new business in the region.”
Global talent solutions provider Wilson Human Capital Group (WilsonHCG) has acquired Personify, a Raleigh, NC-based recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) provider. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. “Personify is one of the largest life sciences and healthcare RPO providers in the world, so this expansion enables continued growth while cementing our position as a global leader in talent acquisition,” said John Wilson, CEO of WilsonHCG. “The partnership aligns two mission-driven organizations with a desire to exceed client expectations. Personify is a company that cares about its people and clients as much as we do, and that’s why this acquisition is so exciting. Together, we’ll set new standards in the talent space.” Personify specializes in the life sciences, healthcare, biotech, and pharmaceuticals sectors and other industries experiencing critical skills shortages. The company provides executive search and recruitment marketing services alongside its RPO solutions
Paycor HCM Inc., a provider of human capital management (HCM) software, has acquired Talenya, an AI-driven recruiting platform. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Talenya’s platform will allow Paycor customers to reduce time to fill critical roles by sourcing both candidates that are actively looking to change jobs and passive candidates that are not actively seeking a new role. In addition, the platform will help companies executing against their DEI strategy by placing an emphasis on diverse candidates that are often overlooked by traditional recruiting systems. “Given the importance of recruiting and retaining top talent in this highly competitive labor market, Paycor is dedicated to giving leaders the technology and expertise they need to develop winning teams,” said Raul Villar, CEO of Paycor. “This AI-powered technology will enhance our industry-leading talent solution, making it even easier for frontline leaders to proactively find skilled and diverse talent quickly and cost effectively. We are excited to welcome Talenya to the Paycor family.”
Related: Hunt Scanlon Media Launches M&A Advisory Service for Recruiters
Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief; Dale M. Zupsansky, Managing Editor; and Stephen Sawicki, Managing Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media
