Quadrant-backed APM acquires UK-based WD Services
Advanced Personnel Management (APM), an Australian disability services provider purchased by Quadrant Private Equity last year, has acquired UK-based employment program operator WD Services.
WD Services, which operates under the brand Ingeus, is currently owned by US-based Providence Services Corporation. It manages programs on behalf of governments in 11 countries, including Australia and South Korea, aimed at improving employment opportunities for groups that face challenges finding jobs, such as veterans, convicts, and the disabled.
According to Providence's third quarter results, the transaction is expected to close before the end of 2018 and will involve all of WD Services' operations aside from those in Saudi Arabia, for which it is pursuing a different strategy. Providence has owned WD Services since 2014, when it acquired the business from founder Thérèse Rein, the wife of former Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd.
Quadrant bought APM in August 2017. According to AVCJ Research, the PE firm paid about A$240 million ($189 million) for a 60% stake held by founder Megan Wynne and her husband, who retained the remaining 40%. The company helps unemployed, injured, and disabled people return to the work force, providing services at 380 locations across Australia, New Zealand, and the UK.
Quadrant is currently investing its latest Australia and New Zealand fund – its sixth vehicle as an independent entity and ninth overall – which closed last year at A$1.15 billion. Many of its investments fall under a handful of industry-specific platforms: for example, the firm has grouped several tourism businesses under the Experience Australia brand, created the Fitness & Lifestyle Group for gym operators, and launched children's entertainment-focused The Entertainment & Education Group.
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