Deal of the Month May 2018: Alexander Mann Solutions – talent firm sells for £820 million

Rosaleen Blair, Founder/CEO, Alexander Mann Solutions

Last month saw OMERS Private Equity agreeing a deal with New Mountain Capital to buy Alexander Mann Solutions, the talent solutions firm, for £820 million.

What is Alexander Mann Solutions?

Alexander Mann is a firm that’s involved in all aspects of the recruitment lifecycle. The firm was founded in 1996 by Rosaleen Blair and is headquartered in London, linking outsourcing and consulting services.

Its services span 85 countries across seven industries. Blair founded Alexander Mann to change the industry and change the way blue-chip clients attract and retain talent.

Often Alexander Mann’s teams are embedded within client organisations and it has a 98% retention rate with its clients.

The deal

This is the second time Alexander Mann has been sold. Back in 2013, Blair sold her company to New Mountain Capital for almost €315 million but stayed in her position as CEO.

This time around the deal has reached £820 million (around €921 million or $1.1 billion). The buyer, OMERS Private Equity, is a private equity investment arm of OMERS, the defined benefit pension plan for municipal employees.

Blair said of the deal:

With OMERS support we can strengthen our global total workforce proposition and critically, accelerate our digital transformation and investment in robotics and AI, creating an even more compelling proposition for our customers around the world.

If all of the conditions and customary approvals by the competition authorities are met, the deal is set to be finalised during the second quarter of this year.

Rosaleen Blair’s background

Blair has been one of the most successful businesspeople around these parts.

She was Veuve Clicquot Businesswoman of the Year 2007, E&Y Entrepreneur of the Year 2006 and one of Brummell’s Inspirational Women 2014. She was awarded a CBE (Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire) in 2017.

Beginning her career as a Montessori teacher in Dublin, she then opened a fashion shop on Grafton Street before establishing a nanny recruitment agency in the Irish capital. After this she moved over to London and worked for James Caan at his recruitment firm. In 1997 she set up her own division of his business, which was Alexander Mann Solutions.