Overijssel-based Seven Stars, a Dutch company that specialises in IT consulting, recruiting, training, staffing, payrolling, and HR services, announced on Monday, December 5, that it has been acquired by Switzerland-based Axiom Partners, a PE investment group with offices in Zurich, Amsterdam and London.
Seven Stars will continue to operate independently within the Axiom Group. The price of the acquisition has not been disclosed.
Strengthening market share in the IT flex market
Since 2005, Seven Stars has been active in the market for flexible labour and outside employment. The company connects ambitious clients with outstanding IT workers and provides a wide range of options for flexible employment in the IT industry.
According to a statement from Axiom Partners, the firm has expanded to the point where it anticipates a 2022 annual revenue of over €85M. Currently, Seven Stars works with more than 700 experts every day for both public and private clients, and expects to see that number increase following this acquisition.
Ronald Raidt, CCO of Seven Stars, says, “We want to increase our market share within the Dutch IT flex market and are pleased that we have found an enthusiastic and strong partner in Axiom with a lot of ambition, knowledge and experience in the industry.”
Raidt adds, “We complement each other well and look forward to achieving our shared ambitions. The collaboration also offers opportunities for our colleagues on broad career paths and even more development opportunities. Based on our mission, we strive for happiness at work for them and all IT professionals, Axiom fully endorses this.”
Attractive synergies
Seven Stars says with this acquisition, Axiom has added a financially sound player to the group. The companies claim this will create attractive synergies.
Guus Franke, CEO of Axiom Partners, says, “Seven Stars is distinctive in the way in which it brings together supply and demand in the flexible IT labour market and matches – in addition to hard skills – based on the personal characteristics of professionals. Because they continue to do what they are good at from their own name and identity, I expect that they will lift the entire group to an even higher level.”
Franke further adds, “We are strengthening our position within the IT flex market and our Total Talent Workforce proposition by unburdening a broader group of clients in the field of flexible labour and external hiring in the IT domain. With the experienced and driven team in Zwolle, Utrecht and Groningen, we are close to clients, professionals and partners. Partly because of this, we foresee solid organic growth in the coming years, which we are very much looking forward to.”
Axiom, an investment firm, has a turnover of more than €1B in the Netherlands because of recent acquisitions, including De Staffing Groep (now Circle8), FixedToday, Cannock-EDR, and Airopack. The firm was established with the belief that its investment business had a special blend of individual talents, entrepreneurship, and the consequent capacity for swift decision-making.
Axiom grows through its buy-and-build strategies, among others in the staffing, financial and sustainability sectors.
01
How Deeploy gives explainable AI (XAI) a central place in MLOps