Private equity firms continue their search for talent and staffing solution companies that can benefit from having a financial and strategic growth partner to help them scale, expand, and diversify. Hunt Scanlon Ventures has entered into the latest deal.
June 3, 2022-Private equity firm The Acacia Group acquires The Baer Group-a full-service provider of contingent staffing in support of technology solutions for industry-leading enterprise technology projects-as part of a strategy to address the growing shortage of skilled talent to lead and support digital transformation initiatives. Acquisition is seen as central to Acacia’s strategy in building businesses skilled at helping government and commercial organizations access the agile technical talent and services they need to deliver digital change. Baer Group will develop a new business platform within the Acacia portfolio.
“The global demand for the best technical talent is at its highest of all and will continue to grow,” said Craig Dawson, co-founder and partner at Acacia. “The team at Baer, highly valued by their clients, oversees an extensive network of consultants and developers with excellent expertise in enabling clients to take advantage of the full commercial potential and mission of digital transformation. “
“We see immediate opportunities for Baer to support the clients of the current Acacia company in their need for skilled technical talent,” Mr. Dawson said. “We will also invest in expanding the size and scope of Baer’s talent network to grow its current blue-chip customer base. Baer has a bright future as part of the Acacia family. We are happy to welcome them to the team. ”
Baer Group was founded in 1997 in Atlanta as a preferred SAP service provider. Since then, the company has partnered with Fortune 500 companies in key markets including life sciences, consumer products and retail. Baer also works closely with federal system integrators, who support U.S. government programs with specialized resources and subject matter experts. Today, the company’s project teams specialize in a wide range of enterprise platforms, including SAP, Oracle, Salesforce, ServiceNow, AWS, Azure and Google Cloud.
“As a new platform within Acacia’s portfolio, we are creating new possibilities for our company and new opportunities for our people,” said Peter Aaron, president of The Baer Group. “Together we have ambitious plans that will allow us to grow in size and boost our value to clients. We will expand and replace our technical capabilities and product partnerships, grow our team and strengthen the our ability to deliver on an international scale.Acacia shares our commitment to building teams of highly skilled and motivated people around a culture of change.That shared philosophy will serve us well while we continue to grow Baer as an employer destination for the best talent in the industry.
Attracting and Retaining Talent
The rationale for Acacia’s acquisition of Baer comes from its direct experience with the growing challenges organizations face in attracting and retaining the best technical talent in a post-pandemic world, according to the company. “Skilled people are looking for greater career opportunities, diversity and flexibility,” Acacia said. “These dynamics, along with the lack of skilled engineers and developers, make it more difficult and costly for large organizations to maintain in-house technical teams. Such organizations are increasingly turning to businesses like Baer for specialist support. “
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“Private equity firms continue their search for companies with staffing solutions that can benefit from having a financial and strategic growth partner to help them scale, expand, and diversify,” he said. Scott A. Scanlon, CEO of Hunt Scanlon Ventures based in Greenwich, Conn. “We’ve seen zero slow down in deal activity this year. We expect more PE firms to enter the space in the second half of 2022 and in the first half of 2023. Transactions are aligned here, in the UK, across Europe, and the Middle East and Asia.Especially hot demand for search firms with high margins and strong management teams that can benefit from investor groups with the right growth playbook to accelerate their businesses , ”He added.
The Baer acquisition was built on Acacia’s 2020 acquisition of TradeHelm, a nearshore software development business based in Argentina. TradeHelm is now part of a global delivery capability for MajorKey Technologies, a digital transformation business within the Acacia portfolio — responding to growing client demand for more agile and cost-effective software development capabilities. .
Acacia Group is a values-driven technology investment firm. It builds profitable businesses and delivers digital innovation, creating conditions for strong and sustainable growth. Acacia is designed to empower talented leaders, shape collaborative cultures, nurture unique talent, build diverse IP, and build unique brands.
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Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief; Dale M. Zupsansky, Managing Editor; and Stephen Sawicki, Managing Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media