Heidrick & Struggles International, Inc. (ticker: HSII, exchange: NASDAQ) News Release - 21-Dec-1999
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Heidrick & Struggles Signs Letter of Intent to Acquire Baines Gwinner
CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 21, 1999--Agreement Extends Reach Within Financial Services and Legal Sectors
Heidrick & Struggles International, Inc. (Nasdaq: HSII), the world's leading executive search firm, today announced that it has signed a letter of intent to acquire Baines Gwinner, the London-based executive search firm specializing in senior-level searches for the financial services and legal industries.
"This acquisition further strengthens the global presence of our Financial Services Practice and helps us establish a foothold in the legal profession," said Patrick S. Pittard, President and Chief Executive Officer of Heidrick & Struggles. "Our cultures are similar in terms of level of search and partnership spirit. We are pleased to bring Baines Gwinner into the Heidrick & Struggles family."
The deal combines the advantages of Heidrick & Struggles' global search expertise across a broad range of practices and functional specialties with the specialist expertise of Baines Gwinner in the financial services and legal sectors through its offices in London, New York and Hong Kong. In addition, Baines Gwinner's successful diversification into related human resources fields such as training and career management is an added benefit.
"This merger secures absolute pre-eminence in the financial services sector and will create a truly effective global platform for our clients," said Baines Gwinner's Managing Director, Jonathan Baines.
The closing of this acquisition is expected to take place in the second quarter of 2000, subsequent to due diligence and reviews. The acquisition will be accounted for using the pooling-of-interests method.
About Heidrick & Struggles International
Heidrick & Struggles International is the world's leading executive search firm, specializing in chief executive, board of directors and senior level management assignments. Today, more than 750 Heidrick & Struggles professionals serve a broad range of organizations including Fortune 500 companies, financial institutions, major health care organizations, universities and not-for-profit organizations, leading mid-cap companies, and emerging growth companies from offices in more than 65 locations throughout North and South America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific. For more information about Heidrick & Struggles, visit our web site at www.heidrick.com.
About Baines Gwinner Limited
Baines Gwinner is a leading financial services search, training and career management group founded in 1986. The global executive search firm specializes in the recruitment of senior executives for the international financial markets and the law. Based in London, New York and Hong Kong, the company has 33 professionals operating in Investment Banking, Securities, Infrastructure, Investment Management, Insurance and Law. Clients include global financial institutions, specialist niche firms, major domestic banks and law firms located in the financial centers of Europe, Asia and North America. BG Training delivers tailored technical training courses to banks and investment banks and BG Careers provides career management for senior executives in financial services.
Certain matters discussed in this news release are forward-looking statements that are necessarily dependent upon assumptions, estimates and data that may be incorrect or imprecise, and include known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors that could cause the actual results to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Some of the risks, uncertainties, assumptions and factors that could affect the Company's financial results are included in the Company's recent SEC filings. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to have been correct. All forward-looking statements in this news release are expressly qualified by these cautionary statements, and the Company expressly disclaims any duty to update such forward-looking statements.
CONTACT: Heidrick & Struggles
Jennifer Silver (media)
404/572-0019
Lynn McHugh (analysts)
312/496-1593
or
Baines Gwinner
Karin Barnick
44-207-623-1414
Clare Rodway
44-207-323-3230