U.S. staffing industry M&A activity continued to flourish until COVID-19 related business shutdowns ramped up in mid-March. The number of completed staffing M&A transactions in the near term will no doubt be impacted, as many deal processes have now paused.

Even before the pandemic, many of the U.S. public staffing companies were absent from notable M&A activity, as staffing industry acquisition activity remains primarily driven by private equity-owned strategic buyers seeking to scale their existing platforms to create value for subsequent exits.

Staffing Industry Insights – Spring 2020

Strategic buyers accounted for 84% of the staffing industry acquisitions in the first quarter of 2020, with private equity funds (financial buyers) investing in new platform acquisitions accounting for the other 16% of transactions.

– Private equity acquired six new platform staffing investments in the first quarter of 2020. This follows the 65 new platform investments in the staffing industry made by private equity from 2017-2019.

Professional staffing companies (including IT, healthcare, finance/accounting and life sciences) typically see the most demand from buyers and private equity investors.

Most buyers have very specific criteria as they evaluate acquisition targets. Acquirers desire companies with a strong blend of both recurring revenue growth and profitability, with significant attention paid to customer diversification and the gross margin impact of potential acquisitions. Proven management teams desiring to stay on post-transaction also remain highly sought after.



Corporate Finance and Restructuring

M&A advisory, restructuring and insolvency, debt advisory, strategic alternatives, transaction diligence and independent financial opinions.

Business Services Investment Banking

Business services expertise for middle-market M&A transactions.

Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) Advisory

Kroll’s investment banking practice has extensive experience in M&A deal strategy and structuring, capital raising, transaction advisory services and financial sponsor coverage.


Transaction Advisory Services

Kroll’s Transaction Advisory Services platform offers corporate and financial investors with deep accounting and technical expertise, commercial knowledge, industry insight and seamless analytical services throughout the deal continuum.

Fairness and Solvency Opinions

Duff & Phelps Opinions is a global leader in Fairness Opinions and Special Committee Advisory, ranking #1 for total number of fairness opinions in the U.S., EMEA (Europe, the Middle East and Africa), Australia and Globally in 2023 according to LSEG (FKA Refinitiv).

Financial Sponsors Group

Dedicated coverage and access to M&A deal-flow for financial sponsors.


Distressed M&A and Special Situations

Kroll professionals have advised hundreds of companies, investors and other stakeholders at all stages of distressed transactions and special situations.

Private Capital Markets – Debt Advisory

Kroll has extensive experience raising capital for middle-market companies to support a wide range of transactions.

Valuation Advisory Services

Our valuation experts provide valuation services for financial reporting, tax, investment and risk management purposes.