Adecco Ends Michael Page Interest

Recruitment giant Adecco has announced that it will not be making an offer for financial recruiter Michael Page and will remain “financially disciplined”.

Adecco, who had a £1.3bn offer rejected last month, said that a deal could have benefited both recruiters and their respective shareholders but had now concluded that it could not agree a combination on terms acceptable to both Adecco and the board of Michael Page at this time.

Adecco has reserved the right to make a future offer for Michael Page within six months if an agreement can be made with the group’s board or if a third party comes in with an offer for Michael Page.

Michael Page’s board released a statement saying "The Board of Michael Page and its advisers gave Adecco's proposals due consideration and unanimously concluded that they materially undervalued the Company and its prospects and that the interests of the Company's shareholders and employees would be better served by Michael Page remaining an independent entity...The Board of Michael Page continues to believe that the Company's clear strategy of organically diversifying its activities by geography and discipline and increasing its exposure to growth markets, together with the longer-term structural growth drivers of the specialist recruitment market, mean that the Company has excellent prospects."