A lot of analysts and advisors have stated that in 2025 we will see a significant increase of M&A activity in the HR Tech market and since the beginning of the new year we have already seen several acquisitions being announced already. The most notable one is the one of Paycor by Paychex.
With the below summary I am wrapping up 2024 on the M&A side. Also in December there were quite a number of interesting end year deals in European HRTech announced. This covers consolidation between scale-ups and start-ups, private equity investments, strategic investments as well as some activity in the HR ecosystem like the HR consultant space.
There quite a few interesting European and also some global #HRTech deals recorded. Here is the summary:
𝐇𝐑𝐓𝐞𝐜𝐡 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬:
📝 talentsconnect AG (DE) acquired PitchYou - Recruiting per WhatsApp (DE) enabling the leading vendor of CareerSite technology in the German-speaking market to extend its portfolio with the 1 to 1 WhatsApp and social recruiting solution of PitchYou - a pioneer in this space. Joint strategy is to further extend its "Direct-to-Talent" ecosystem: https://www.talentsconnect-ag.de/blog/talentsconnect-ubernimmt-whatsapp-pionier-pitchyou
📝 Keensight Capital (FR) acquired MetaCompliance (UK) which delivers cybersecurity and compliance software being at the edge of HRM focusing on user training and human risk management. With the investor MetaCompliances plans to capture new opportunities in its current markets and expand into others, creating a global leader in HRM: https://keensight.com/keensight-capital-signs-an-exclusivity-agreement-to-acquire-metacompliance-a-leading-european-human-risk-management-platform/
📝 deskbird (CH) acquired Semana (FR), the French leader in connected workspace management platforms simplifying flex-office. Together, both companies want to build the leading platform in Europe dedicated to managing hybrid organizations: https://www.deskbird.com/press-releases/deskbird-and-semana-join-forces
📝Rivean Capital (NL) acquired Acture (NL) from IK Partners. Acture is a specialised outsourced service provider supporting corporates and staffing agencies in managing employee absence. With IK’s support since 2020, the Acture completed four add-on acquisitions in the Netherlands and three in Germany, to further complement its proposition and expand its geographical footprint. Rivean plans to continue supporting this growth: https://riveancapital.com/news/rivean-capital-has-acquired-a-majority-stake-in-acture-group-from-ik-partners/
📝 Main Capital Partners (NL) acquired TMA the Talent Method (NL), one of the leading Dutch providers of talent management software solutions. With its background from diverse (previous) HRTech investments like in Connexys, Assessio, PERBILITY GmbH, Textkernel, BCS HR Software and TimePlan Software, Main and TMA now plan to further consolidate their position in the Netherlands while pursuing international expansion through a buy-and-build approach: https://main.nl/press-release/main-acquires-tma/
📝 Imagine Learning (US) acquired Pango (UK) to Advance AI-Powered Personalized K-12 Solutions. This acquisition adds additional curriculum-informed AI tools to the digital curriculum portfolio of the learning vendor: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/imagine-learning-acquires-pango-education-141000477.html?guccounter=1
Two HR consulting and outsourcing focused transactions also took place that are similarly relevant for the HRTech ecosystem:
📝 Liberta Partners (DE) enters strategic partnership with Avenir Group (CH) which enables Avenir to further expand market coverage and to extend its portfolio especially in the area of digital solution offerings: https://www.avenirgroup.ch/artikel/avenir-group-stellt-weichen-auf-weiteres-wachstum/
📝 HR Path (FR) acquires Pay Human Group (MX), a Mexican company specializing in payroll management and HR consulting. This further expands HR Path's global reach and enhances the presence in the LATAM region: https://hr-path.com/en/our-news/hr-path-expands-global-reach-with-the-acquisition-of-pay-human-group-enhancing-its-market-presence-in-latam/2024/12/03/
📝 General Atlantic (US) acquired Learning Technologies Group plc (UK) for $1bn. Reuters states General Atlantic expects increased training requirements for large corporations with the evolution of AI and comes with an existing portfolio of digital solutions: https://www.reuters.com/markets/deals/uks-learning-technologies-agrees-1-bln-buyout-by-general-atlantic-2024-12-04/
🌎 Globally notable HRTech deals include the acquisition of Assemble (US) by Deel as well as the acquisition of LiveHire, a Humanforce company by Accel-KKR-backed Humanforce in Australia.
Congrats to all of those involved in these deals and all the best for the next iteration of the journey!
Let me know if I overlooked something in the comments below! ⬇
Comments