Express Human Resources

The Company

Express Staffing Services (ESS), one of the World’s leading franchisers of temporary employment services, determined that its professional employer organization (PEO) subsidiary was no longer part of the company’s strategic vision.

The Situation

The subsidiary, Express Human Resources, Inc. (Express) was a regionally focused provider headquartered in Little Rock, Arkansas. Express was under-performing and PEO products did not fit within ESS’s global distribution structure.  KPMG Corporate Finance brought the deal to several larger nationally focused acquirers, but also recognized that PeopleWorks, a small regional competitor may offer the highest bid to achieve economies of scope.

The Transaction

The transaction was completed with PeopleWorks to the satisfaction of ESS in spite of Express’s underperformance.This transaction was particularly noteworthy as KPMG Corporate Finance also assisted ESS on the purchase of Express in 1995.  However, KPMG Corporate Finance negotiated against ESS on that transaction. In spite of this previous relationship, ESS recognized KPMG’s sector knowledge and negotiating capabilities and hired us to successfully execute the transaction.