Littlejohn & Co. Completes Sale of Motion Recruitment Partners to Kelly Services
Marks Fifth Liquidity Event for Littlejohn and Second Sale to a Publicly Traded Company in Under a Year Reflecting Firm’s Strong Track Record Driving Long Term Value
GREENWICH, CT – June 6, 2024 – Littlejohn & Co. LLC (“Littlejohn”), a middle-market private equity and special situations investment firm, today announced the successful completion of its sale of Motion Recruitment Partners, LLC (“MRP” or the “Company”), a leading provider of IT talent solutions across North America and outsourced talent solutions globally, to Kelly (Nasdaq: KELYA, KELYB), a leading global specialty talent solutions provider. Under the terms of the transaction Kelly acquired MRP for $425 million, with additional earnout potential of up to $60 million due in 2025 based on certain performance conditions.
Since Littlejohn’s initial investment in MRP in 2018, the Company made three add-on acquisitions, broadening its suite of services to include telecommunications and federal IT capabilities. As a result of these strategic acquisitions and expanded business development resources, MRP significantly grew its IT contract staffing revenue during the course of Littlejohn’s ownership.
“We leveraged our deep knowledge of the human capital sector and expertise in scaling middle-market businesses to support MRP in achieving its growth objectives,” said Drew Greenwood, Managing Director at Littlejohn. “The Company has proven to be resilient and is well positioned to capitalize on additional opportunities moving forward. We wish MRP continued success and expect the Company will continue to thrive in partnership with Kelly.”
Littlejohn’s sale of MRP follows four liquidity events since September of 2023, including the successful sales of Dana Kepner Company and Cook & Boardman as well as the dividend recapitalization of Valcourt and a shareholder recapitalization of Interstate Waste Services.
RW Baird & Co. provided investment banking services and Baker Hostetler provided legal services to the Company in connection with the transaction.
About Littlejohn & Co. LLC
Littlejohn & Co. is a Greenwich, Connecticut-based investment firm focused on private equity and debt investments primarily in growing middle-market industrial and services companies that can benefit from Littlejohn’s 25+ years of operational and sector expertise. With approximately $7.9 billion in regulatory assets under management, the firm seeks to build sustainable success for its portfolio companies through a disciplined approach to engineering change. For more information about Littlejohn, visit www.littlejohnllc.com.
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Nathaniel Garnick/Grace Cartwright
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