Premier in €59m deal for rival

PREMIER Group, the Cork-head quartered recruitment firm, has tabled a €59 million bid for British rival Imprint.

Premier’s offer trumps the cash and share bid for Imprint by Hydrogen, another London-quoted recruitment company.

The Premier bid is equivalent to 115 pence (150 cent) per Imprint share. Premier said the offer was a premium of 8.2% to the closing price of Imprint yesterday.

However, Premier’s bid is nearly 30% less than the offer for the company by its management last year.

But the Irish company said it is looking for Imprint’s board to recommend the offer to shareholders.

Pat Fitzgerald, chief executive of Premier, said the combination of the two firms would create a market leading financial recruitment business in Britain and Ireland.

“Imprint represents an excellent strategic and geographic fit with our existing operations and provides Premier with a significant entry point to the Asia-Pacific region. We believe that an all-cash offer of 115 pence per share represents an excellent opportunity for Imprint Shareholders to realise certain cash value,” said Mr Fitzgerald.

Premier was founded by Mr Fitzgerald in 1988 and has operations in Ireland and Britain with a turnover of about €90m. The company employs 350 people across 18 offices.