Specialist IT recruitment business Lorien, based in Leeds, has been acquired by Impellam to create the second largest staffing company in the UK by turnover. The initial consideration is £22.3m in cash and £7.5m in new ordinary shares at a price of 460p. Impellam will assume Lorien's net debt of £14m and pay an additional deferred consideration of up to £6m in January 2015 and up to £13.9m in January 2016, dependent on the EBITDA performance of Lorien during these two earn-out periods. Derek O'Neill, a major shareholder and director of Lorien, has been appointed to the Impellam Board as a non-executive director.

Squire Patton Boggs acted for the shareholders of Lorien, with Corporate partner Jane Haxby leading the team. “Having acted for Lorien for many years,” says Jane, “we are delighted to have advised on this significant deal and the next phase of growth and development for Lorien as part of Impellam's specialist managed services operations.”

Lorien, based at West One on Wellington Street, Leeds, was founded in 1977 and is the largest independent specialist IT recruitment business in the UK, and also has offices in London, Manchester and Edinburgh. It operates under the Lorien Resourcing and Vertical IT brands, through which it provides outsourced recruitment services and specialist staffing expertise to more than 400 customers, including some of the UK's largest blue chip financial, technology and pharmaceutical companies.