Recruitment giant Randstad has increased its presence in Italy with the acquisition of Italian agency Obiettivo Lavoro.

Randstad said in a statement the €102.5m (£79m) deal, which sees Randstad acquire the entire share capital of Obiettivo Lavoro, moves the group from the number four ranked agency in Italy to No. 2. The biggest recruiter in Italy is Gi Group.

Commenting on the deal, Randstad chief executive Jacques van den Broek said the acquisition is part of its strategy to aim for top three positions in each of the markets in which it operates. 

The transaction is subject to approval of the European Commission and certain internal reorganisation at Obiettivo Lavoro, though this has been approved by the boards of both companies. Randstad expects to close the transaction in the next few months and will finance the deal using existing credit facilities.

Obiettivo Lavoro posted revenue of roughly €436m and EBITDA of €20.1m in 2015, and has more than 600 corporate employees and just over 100 branches in Italy.

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