Specialist professional-services and engineering-recruitment group Matchtech (MTEC) has agreed to acquire fellow recruiter Networkers International. The price tag is nearly £58m, which represents a 22.5 per cent premium to Networkers' closing share price on Tuesday. Matchtech will finance the deal partly through a £30m term loan facility, and pay the remainder in shares in the newly combined company.
Matchtech's decision to acquire Networkers - which specialises in recruiting and placing staff in the telecoms, IT, engineering and energy sectors - is a departure from its historical focus on organic growth. Brian Wilkinson, newly-appointed chief executive of Matchtech, says the acquisition complements the group's aim of "sharpening the focus" of the business by bolstering its engineering and technology expertise. Management hopes scaling up will also help it to attract and place more candidates with the diversified skill set required in highly specialised markets.
Matchtech derives around 2 per cent of its net fee income from outside the UK, compared with the 70 per cent generated by Networkers. Mr Wilkinson expects the deal to expand Matchtech's global reach, since the group has been "a little slow off the mark developing the business internationally". The combined business will aim to establish a 70:30 per cent split between UK and international fee income.
Mr Wilkinson's appointment was announced on the day of the acquisition, after former chief executive Adrian Gunn stepped down. Mr Wilkinson said his predecessor opted to resign ahead of his targeted retirement date of 2016 in order to ensure consistent management of the group.
