On 28 July 2021, the Adecco Group concluded an agreement with the Ricci family and Swilux S.A. (a subsidiary of Compagnie Nationale à Portefeuille SA) to acquire their shares in the listed company AKKA Technologies. As a result, the Adecco Group, through its subsidiary Modis, will hold approximately 60% of the shares. The price amounts to EUR 49 per share; some sellers will receive only cash, others a mix of cash and Adecco shares.
The closing of the transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing obligations, and is expected in early 2022.
After closing, the Adecco Group will launch a mandatory public takeover bid with a view to acquiring the remaining securities and delisting AKKA Technologies from the regulated markets of Euronext Brussels and Euronext Paris.
The transaction is the largest acquisition ever for the Adecco Group. The total consideration of the transaction amounts to approximately EUR 2 billion in enterprise value.
The Eubelius team, led by Marieke Wyckaert and Joris De Wolf, and including Anouk Kerkhofs and Christophe Janssens, assisted the Adecco Group with all Belgian aspects of the transaction. Our multidisciplinary team included specialists from the economic law, banking & finance, intellectual property, digital & data protection, tax and real estate departments of Eubelius. Sullivan & Cromwell LLP assisted the Adecco Group in the global transaction.
More information on the transaction is available in the press release of the Adecco Group and the articles published in De Tijd “Adecco koopt Akka, NPM casht fors” (in Dutch), l’Echo “Les familles Frère et Ricci cèdent leur place à Adecco dans Akka Technologies” (in French), and Reuters “Adecco Group to buy AKKA Technologies in $2.4 billion deal”.
