PeopleIn to acquire Australian workforce solutions provider FIP Group

PeopleIn Limited, an Australian staffing, recruitment, and workforce solutions provider, has agreed to acquire Food Industry People Group (FIP Group) in a deal worth up to AUD 70 million ($50.45 million).

Based in Queensland, FIP Group is a workforce solutions provider. It is said to be among the largest providers of staff to the Australian food sector.

The company is claimed to provide nearly 4,500 workers under the PALM Scheme to the food and agricultural sector. FIP Group workers are employed on a fixed term basis for 3-4 years and are directly assigned to a host employer through their visa duration.

PeopleIn said that the acquisition of FIP Group grows its participation in the food sector and strengthens its position as the largest publicly-listed recruitment and staffing firm in Australia.

Ross Thompson — CEO of PeopleIN said: “PeopleIN has acquired an at scale international recruitment engine room to be leveraged by our defensive growth sectors, including food services, healthcare and aged care.

“Our investment via the PALM Scheme will help solve the significant employee shortages faced by our clients, and the broader market, by bringing in workforces at scale.”

As per the terms of the deal, PeopleIn will make an upfront consideration of AUD 45 million for the acquisition. This will be made up of AUD 35 million in cash and the issuance of AUD 10 million worth of its shares.

PeopleIn will also make an additional payment of AUD 25 million as deferred cash consideration, which will be over two tranches based on FIP Group achieving growth in EBITDA for FY23 and FY24.

Earlier this year, PeopleIn signed a deal worth up to AUD 26.8 million to acquire Perigon Group, a Sydney-based recruitment company.