Modis Professional Services (MPS) agrees to be purchased by Adecco.

[mtraininjax]

Well, perhaps we will get a new name at the top of the Modis, Accustaff, Independent Life building.....

One of Jacksonville's largest companies agreed early Tuesday morning to be acquired by a Swiss staffing firm.

MPS Group Inc. announced it has agreed to be acquired by Adecco Group for $13.80 a share, a total of about $1.3 billion.

"We are pleased to be joining forces with Adecco. Not only will this transaction create substantial shareholder value, but the combination of MPS Group and Adecco will also be very positive for our employees, consultants and clients," said MPS Chief Executive Timothy Payne in a press release.

"In addition to creating value for our shareholders, we believe this merger will create tremendous opportunity for Jacksonville, which will serve as the base for Adecco’s North America professional staffing operations," said Derek Dewan, chairman of the Jacksonville-based staffing firm, in the press release.

This represents a 20+ percent premium over the closing price from yesterday. I hear more jobs leaving Jacksonville due to overlap and attrition. So who is bringing in new jobs?

[tufsu1]

I hear they may actually be moving their North American corporate HQ here...so maybe this will be a jobs increase for Jax.

[JeffreyS]

I hope so and put those new jobs in their new building.

[fsujax]

I heard the same thing TUFSU1....wonder if they will change the name on the Modis Building! They cant put new employees in the Modis Building...it is almost 100% occupied.

[cline]

Maybe they would be interested in a naming deal for the stadium--Adecco Stadium perhaps?

[aaapolito]

Maybe they would be interested in a naming deal for the stadium--Adecco Stadium perhaps?

I like where you're going.  What a great way for a foreign corporation to get some domestic exposure in their new home. 

Now all they have to do is help fill the stadium so that the exposure occurs during home games.

[mtraininjax]

An update to the Times-Union story...

MPS Chief Executive Officer Timothy Payne said in an interview that Adecco approached MPS about the deal.

“They’re the largest staffing company in the world,” Payne said. “They have long had the goal of trying to beef up their professional staffing business in America and the United Kingdom as well.” MPS has a strong presence in the United Kingdom as well as North America.

“They felt like we would be a good fit,” Payne said.

Besides temporary employees that are placed by MPS, the company has 375 employees in Jacksonville that work in the headquarters operations. Payne is hopeful that Adecco will keep most of those employees.

“They plan to make that [the Jacksonville office] the operations center for their professional staffing business for all of North America,” he said.

If I was an employee in the Modis building for MPS, that is not the ringing endorsement I want out of the CEO. But then again, his company was just purchased and now he works for someone else.