Aalter, 9 December 2021 – Vectis Private Equity and the management of Hudson Benelux, a specialist in HR consulting, have decided to sell their shares to Randstad NV, a global leader in HR services. The acquisition offers new opportunities for the buyer thanks to the services in which Hudson excels, such as specialised recruitment, talent management, flexible HR solutions, strategic compensation advice and innovative HR tools.
Hudson, as we currently know it, evolved from De Witte & Morel, founded in 1982. In the following decades, the company grew and became a market leader in high-quality HR consulting and temporary staffing of middle to senior management for the private and public sector and SMEs to multinationals. Hudson’s effective research and development capabilities have enabled the company to develop high-quality, data-driven HR tools and services such as Assessment & Development centers, Reward Management and other flexible HR solutions.
With the support of Vectis Private Equity, management was able to separate and spin-off the Benelux operations from the Nasdaq-listed US parent group in early 2018. In close cooperation with the management, vital investments were made in recent years in new operational IT platforms and the refreshment of the brand and office network. The first international expansion into Luxembourg and the Netherlands was also an important and successful achievement.
Hudson is a strong addition to Randstad Group’s current service offering. Hudson will continue to operate as a separate company and brand. The 275 employees will work from the existing offices in Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg.
Walter Beyen, Partner of Vectis Private Equity: “We are very proud of the journey we have completed together with management. We were able to take the right steps to make this possible. Randstad’s international network and solid foundation will help Hudson to further develop and grow. I would like to thank the entire management team for this successful cooperation; it has been a pleasure to be a strategic sounding board for them.”
News article in De Tijd: Rekruteringsspecialist Hudson komt in handen van Randstad (10/12/2021)
About Vectis Private Equity
Vectis Private Equity is an independent private equity fund that focuses on investments in Belgian SMEs and manages ca. 125 million EURO in assets. The team has years of experience in accompanying SMEs in their growth and is very familiar with the challenges these companies face. Since its creation, more than 15 years ago, Vectis has invested in more than 30 Belgian companies and has also realised about 20 additional add-on acquisitions. This makes Vectis one of the most active private equity investors in this segment of the Belgian market.