USG People

USG People N.V.
Naamloze vennootschap
Traded as Euronext: USG
Industry Recruitment
Founded 1997
Headquarters Almere, Netherlands
Key people
 Rob Zandbergen (CEO), Cees Veerman (Chairman of the supervisory board)
Products Employment agencies, human resources services
Revenue €3.099 billion (2010)[1]
€43.1 million (2010)[1]
Profit €15.3 million (2010)[1]
Total assets €1.677 billion (end 2010)[1]
Total equity €740.8 million (end 2010)[1]
Number of employees
 7,160 (average, 2010)[1]
Website www.usgpeople.com

USG People N.V. is a Dutch-based recruitment and human resources company, headquartered in Almere. USG is Holland's second-largest employment company behind Randstad.[2] The firm has a presence in thirteen countries in Central and Western Europe, operating temporary employment agencies and providing secondment and other HR services. USG People was formed by the 1997 merger of the companies Unique International and Goudsmit, and was known as United Services Group between 2001 and 2005. Listed on Euronext Amsterdam, the company is a constituent of the mid-cap AMX stock market index.

History

The company in its current form was founded from the 1997 merger between the Benelux staffing firm Unique International B.V. and the publicly traded Goudsmit N.V., a holding company involved in various sectors including recruitment.[3] The enlarged group changed its name to United Services Group N.V. in 2001.[3]

In 2002 United Services Group acquired a controlling stake in the job agency Start Holding, which had been privatised by the Dutch government six years earlier.[4] This was later expanded to full control. The deal gave USG an increased presence in countries such as Spain and Italy.

The company acquired smaller Belgian peer Solvus Resource Group for around €585 million[5] in August 2005,[6] after which it again changed its name to USG People N.V.

In late 2008 the company adopted a "poison pill" defence against potential acquisitors by issuing preference shares to a company foundation.[7]

Operations

The company operates around 1,350 branches across 10 European countries.[1] The Dutch market remains the largest for the company, contributing nearly 40% of all revenues.[1] Belgium and Luxembourg, France, Germany and Spain are the next largest regional divisions of the firm.

By far the company's largest business segment is general temporary work agencies, which operate under the unified Start People brand across all countries.[8] USG also owns a number of specialist staffing agencies, recruiting into professions such as administration, finance, secretarial work and health care. Its professional division covers the recruitment and secondment of staff in skilled fields including engineering, telecommunications and IT, while the company also provides various other services in the field of customer services.[8]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 "Annual Report 2010". USG People. Retrieved 22 April 2011.
  2. ↑ Chee, Foo Yun; Kreijger, Gilbert (23 December 2008). "USG People gets shareholder ok for pref shares issue". Reuters. Retrieved 2008-12-28.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "about us >> our history". USG People. Retrieved 2008-12-28.
  4. ↑ "United Services neemt uitzendconcurrent Start over". De Standaard (in Dutch). 3 April 2002. Retrieved 2008-12-29.
  5. ↑ "Brussels shares rise on firmer US dollar; Solvus soars on bid from USG". AFX News (Forbes). 15 June 2005. Retrieved 2008-12-28.
  6. ↑ "USG declares offer for Solvus unconditional, holds 95.56 pct of shares". AFX News (Forbes). 19 August 2005. Retrieved 2008-12-28.
  7. ↑ Chee, Foo Yun (11 December 2008). "Can USG People ward off opportunistic buyers?". Reuters. Retrieved 2008-12-28.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 "about us >> our business >> our companies". USG People. Retrieved 2008-12-28.

External links

  1. ↑ Gemalto opgenomen in AEX-index, Aperam eruit, Trivano, 6 june 2013