Dutch staffing firm Randstad to buy rival Vedior
AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Dutch jobs firm Randstad (RAND.AS) is buying rival Vedior VDOR.AS in a cash-and-shares deal worth 3.3 billion euros ($4.87 billion) to create the world's second-largest staffing company, it said on Monday.
The proposed offer values Vedior at 19.09 euros per share, a 55 percent premium over Vedior's share price last Thursday, one day before the companies said they were in talks.
The offer is expected to comprise 9.5 euros in cash and 0.32759 Randstad shares for each Vedior share.
"We do see the positive drivers for the acquisition since it improves Randstad's position in professional staffing and its geographical presence ... Moreover, scale remains an important competitive factor," SNS Securities analysts said in a note.
Based on the proposed offer and at Thursday's stock price, Randstad said in its statement that its offer was worth 3.5 billion euros, or 20.19 euros per share.
But shares in Randstad, which plans to issue 57 million new shares for the deal, fell 9.7 percent on Monday by 1200 GMT, reducing the value of its offer to 3.3 billion euros.
Vedior stock was trading up 9 percent at 18.52 euros, just short of Randstad's offer.
Shares in staffing firm USG People (USGP.AS) were up 3 percent to 19.30 euros, and Brunel (BRUN.AS) was down 1 percent.
Fears of a U.S. downturn and weaker demand for flexible labor have weighed on shares of staffing firms this year.
Revenue in the Dutch temporary staffing market rose 2 percent in the four weeks to November 4 from a year earlier, the Dutch association of temporary work agencies ABU said last week, marking its slowest growth rate since early 2004.
But Randstad Chief Executive Ben Noteboom said he was not worried about the staffing market.
"We are not negative about market developments," Noteboom told reporters.
Randstad said in a statement it expected 100 million euros in annual cost and tax synergy benefits. The new company would be the world's second-largest jobs firm after Switzerland's Adecco (ADEN.VX), with annual revenues of 17.3 billion euros.
The proposed takeover will contribute to earnings per share from the outset, excluding one-off costs of 60 million euros, Noteboom told reporters. He said he did not expect any antitrust issues to complicate the deal.
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