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- PeopleIn (PPE) is acquiring Food Industry People (FIP) Group, a workforce solutions business who employs staff for the food sector within Australia
- CEO Ross Thompson says the decision to acquire FIP Group will help solve the “significant” employee shortages by bringing in workforces at scale
- PeopleIn will pay $45 million through a mix of cash and shares and a further $25 million deferred payment may be made depending on certain growth milestones
- PeopleIn says the acquisition will cement its position as the largest ASX-listed recruitment and staffing company in Australia
- Shares in PeopleIn are up 9.72 per cent to trade at $3.50 at 10:47 am AEST
PeopleIn (PPE) is set to fully acquire shares in Food Industry People (FIP) Group, sealing its position as the largest ASX-listed recruitment and staffing company in Australia.
FIP is a workforce solutions business established in 2006 and is one of the largest providers of staff for the food sector in Australia, employing a significant number of workers under the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) scheme.
The PALM scheme helps fill labour gaps in rural and regional Australia by offering approved employers access to a pool of reliable, productive workers where there are not enough local workers available, said the company.
CEO Ross Thompson said the company’s investment through the PALM scheme could help solve the “significant” employee shortages faced by its clients and the broader market by bringing in workforces at scale.
The acquisition will cost PeopleIn $45 million which will be made up of a $35 million cash payment and $10 million in PPE shares. A further $25 million deferred consideration may be payable based on the business achieving certain growth milestones.
FIP is expected to contribute around $9.5 million in earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) and will generate pro forma forecast earnings per share accretion of around 15 per cent in FY23.
The cash component of the acquisition will be debt funded from PeopleIn’s existing lender and the net debt post acquisition will be approximately 1.1 times net debt to pro forma FY22 EBITDA.
As part of the acquisition, FIP Group CEO Brad Seagrott will join the PeopleIn executive leadership team and continue in his role as CEO of FIP Group.
Together, the two companies will work to accelerate growth through sharing customers and grow geographically.
The acquisition is expected to complete by mid-June and will officially make the company the largest ASX-listed recruitment and staffing company in Australia.
Shares in PeopleIn were up 9.72 per cent to trade at $3.50 at 10:47 am AEST.
