Personnel Service Enters the Stock Exchange Through the Back Door

The recruitment firm and the NewConnect-listed company Trinity will merge. A new Personnel Service will be formed, which will soon move to the WSE.

Personnel Service (PS) and Trinity have signed an agreement defining the principles of their merger. The first step is to be a share issue of PS addressed to selected investors, through which the company intends to raise PLN 15-25 million. A roadshow is expected to start soon in order to complete the process later this month.

Subsequently, in late December or at the latest in January of next year, the NewConnect-listed company Trinity will issue shares to be acquired by all current co-owners of PS, in proportion to their shares in the company.

"Trinity will raise its capital, thereby obtaining funds to purchase 100 percent of Personnel Service shares, and after this transaction, it will change its name and become Personnel Service," explains Tomasz Hanczarek, President of PS.

He adds that the management board had previously considered entering the trading floor via the traditional route; however, they decided that given the dynamic development of the company, it would take too long, hence the choice of the variant with Trinity in the lead role.

"It is a company that is still looking for a development path for itself. That is probably why we managed to reach an agreement very quickly," says Tomasz Hanczarek.

We were unable to speak with Trinity representatives.

The Main Floor

NewConnect, however, is intended to be only the first stock exchange stop for PS.

"Immediately after finalizing the transaction, we will begin preparations to move to the main market of the WSE," announces the company's president.

He adds that after Columbus Energy, the new Personnel Service will be the largest company listed on NewConnect, having every predisposition to quickly advance to the big exchange.

"Later, the time will likely come to enter foreign stock exchanges, because listing on them is also a passport to Western European markets," says Krzysztof Inglot, founder and one of the shareholders of PS.

Tomasz Hanczarek counts on his company's capitalization reaching PLN 1 billion as early as next year. Market valuation is, in fact, one of the reasons why PS is heading to the stock exchange.

"It will be the most reliable assessment of our hard work over the five years since the establishment of Personnel Service," says the president.

Western Europe

In his opinion, the stock exchange also provides easier access to financing, which, given the company's strong expansion abroad, may soon be of great importance to it. In the passing year, PS expanded in Europe, entering the markets of Germany, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Finland.

"We are a contractor for large corporations, for whom a 60-day payment term is standard. Therefore, easy access to financing will be significant for us," says Krzysztof Inglot.

Currently, the company's revenues reach nearly PLN 600 million, and its EBITDA profit is PLN 18 million. Both managers believe that within a few or even a dozen or so years, sales will continue to grow dynamically. This is to be favored by the development of industrial production in Poland, which is still the most important market for PS, the very favorable geographical location of our country in this respect, as well as the fact that both shareholders and managers have many years of experience in the industry.

This group includes, among others, Tomasz Misiak, a well-known businessman, founder, and former owner of Work Service (currently sitting on the supervisory board of PS).

The Ukrainian Project

The PS share issue for the amount of PLN 15-25 million is related to the company's latest project.

"The money will be allocated to the Ukrainian project, in which we will engage as a member of a consortium formed by the French TLS Contact. We are already ready to sign a contract with the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Kyiv for visa processing for Ukrainians," says Tomasz Hanczarek.

He assures that the National Appeal Chamber (KIO) has confirmed the victory of the French-Polish consortium in the tender that has been ongoing for nearly two years. Let us recall that this concerns support for Polish consulates in issuing visas for Ukrainians. Such assistance is necessary given the huge number of neighbors from across the Bug River arriving in Poland—it involves processing about 800,000 people annually.

Five entities participated in the tender. The losing competitors protested subsequent decisions, which is why the announcement of the final result was delayed.

"We plan to establish 18 visa centers in Ukraine, where about 500 people will work," says the President of PS.

It is for this purpose that PS wants to raise money from investors soon.