- 01HiTech finalises $4m placement to fund Hudson integration.
- 02Asset-only deal limits Hudson liabilities.
- 03Pro forma revenue ~A$216m; national footprint.
HiTech Group Australia (ASX: HIT) has completed the acquisition of selected assets of Hudson Global Resources (Aust) and secured firm commitments for a $4 million placement to support working capital and integration of the enlarged business.
The deal gives HiTech immediate national scale, combining its established federal government presence with Hudson’s state government and private sector relationships across a broader professional services and workforce solutions platform.
HiTech expects the enlarged group to have about $216m of pro forma combined revenue, with operations across Australia.
The placement will issue 4 million new shares at $1.00 each, representing a 9.9% discount to HiTech’s 11 September closing price and a 13.3% discount to its five-day volume weighted average price.
The acquisition was structured as an asset-only purchase from administration, allowing HiTech to take on operating assets, customer relationships and business capabilities while limiting exposure to Hudson’s historical liabilities.
Reshaped National Footprint
HiTech’s revised transaction terms set an upfront consideration component of about $4.8m less employee entitlements and up to about $3.95m of deferred consideration, with a $1.25m deposit already paid before completion.
The deferred amount is payable within nine months of completion subject to future margin-generation hurdles achieved by the acquired assets, aligning part of the purchase price with their subsequent performance.
All transferring employees and contractors and all material enterprise clients have been novated, while most government panel agreements were transferred at completion and one remained outstanding.
Transition arrangements are supporting customer and contractor continuity while remaining government novations and supplier set-ups are completed, with integration of shared services and systems planned progressively.
HiTech puts the implied acquisition multiple at less than 1.0 times pro forma EBITDA for the last 12 months.
Integration Strategy Funding
The $4m placement is being made to new institutional and professional investors, with settlement expected on 22 September and allotment of the new shares scheduled for 23 September.
HiTech funded completion using existing cash and a $10m term loan, while a $15m receivables finance facility is intended to support the acquired receivables book and increased weekly contractor payroll obligations.
Placement proceeds will provide additional working capital and balance-sheet flexibility, including scope to accelerate debt repayment, with HiTech estimating a post-raising net debt position of $3.5m.
New shares will rank equally with existing fully paid ordinary shares from issue, although they will not be entitled to the 4.0-cent fully franked final dividend for the 2026 financial year.
“The equity raising provides HiTech with additional balance sheet flexibility as we begin the integration of Hudson and position the enlarged Group for its next phase of growth,” chief executive officer Elias Hazouri said.
Broader National Scale
The combination broadens HiTech beyond information and communications technology (ICT) recruitment into professional recruitment, business support, project services, and permanent recruitment.
It also adds state government and enterprise channels to the company’s federal government core.
Hudson’s acquired assets were generating about $150m of annualised September revenue after disruption during voluntary administration, compared with about $220m of revenue for the last 12 months to July 2026.
HiTech sees scope to rebuild activity as customer novations and supplier set-ups are completed, while identified efficiencies include systems consolidation, lower receivables funding costs and removal of duplicated corporate overhead.
The group expects the acquisition to be accretive to EPS on a pro forma basis before synergies, with the expanded management team leading a phased integration focused on customer, contractor, and employee continuity.
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