London and Atlanta – Jan. 11, 2011
Talent assessment companies SHL and PreVisor announced they have merged to create a combined company to be known as SHL. The merged company will deliver more than 15 million assessments annually in more than 150 countries and 30 languages. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Both SHL and PreVisor are privately held companies.
The new organization will bring together assessment science and services with the goal to improve business results and performance of organizations through people decisions. The merged company will provide customers with a range of assessment solutions for roles at all levels and support decisions from recruitment to succession planning.
The combined company will have more than 850 employees with a presence in more than 50 countries, and through the merger becomes the largest employer of business psychologists outside the public sector. These capabilities alongside a consulting practice and 24-hour customer support center mean SHL will offer clients global and local insight, alongside access to more than 1,000 assessments.
“For more than 30 years, SHL and PreVisor have been at the forefront of talent management, and so the announcement of our merger is an industry-defining moment,” said David Leigh, chief executive officer, SHL, who will become CEO of the newly formed SHL Group. “This decisive move will accelerate the creation of a truly global leader in people intelligence, fundamentally changing the talent management market. The scientific rigor, innovation and technology leadership combined with the largest pool of industry experts and data, will make us the foremost global authority on driving business benefit through more effective people decisions.”
“This is a significant day for our customers, partners and employees across the globe. By joining forces we will be able to drive even greater innovation and value within the talent management marketplace,” said Noel Sitzmann, chief executive officer, PreVisor. “Through the science of people intelligence, the company will be able to embed talent assessment solutions within our clients’ processes, improving hiring and development decisions and generating greater ROI for their talent management programs.”
SHL will be headquartered in London, with offices in North America, Europe, Middle East, Africa, Asia and Australia/New Zealand.
More than 50 percent of global Fortune 500 companies, 80 percent of FTSE 100 and half of the Australian Stock Exchange use SHL and PreVisor for their people and talent management solutions and services, including Barclays, Coca-Cola, Danone, General Mills, Marks & Spencer, Microsoft, Sprint, Target, Time Warner Cable, UnitedHealth Group, Vodafone and Xerox Corporation.
SHL is a portfolio company of UK-based private equity firm Hg Capital and PreVisor is a portfolio company of U.S.-headquartered private equity firm Veronis Suhler Stevenson (VSS). Hg and VSS will each continue their ownership of the combined company in partnership.
